THERAPY for WOMEN in Augusta, GA
You started people-pleasing to keep the peace, not realizing taking care of everyone else would become so automatic you'd forget how to take care of yourself.
When someone asks you what you want for dinner, do you respond with “I don’t know, what do you want?” and then agree with whatever they suggest?
When someone tells you something bad happened to them, do you immediately say “I’m sorry” even though you had nothing to do with what happened?
Do you hate conflict so much that you lose sleep worrying you said the wrong thing and someone might be secretly mad at you and just hasn’t told you?
You were always the “good girl” who did everything that was expected of her. You people-pleased so hard that the part of you that actually has needs went silent.
You struggle to tell anyone no and actually mean it. You might say no at first, but then guilt hits so hard that you cave and do what they asked anyway.
When someone asks for your opinion on what to do, you say you’re “just chill”, you “go with the flow”, or you’re “easy-going” so you don’t risk choosing the wrong thing and upsetting them.
It feels selfish to get something just for yourself, so if you want a treat, you buy one for everyone else in the house too so you don’t feel guilty.
You’re always on edge worrying that someone is mad at you. One short text message response from them and you’re spiraling, trying to figure out what you did wrong.
If people-pleasing has caused you to ignore your own needs, Therapy for Women, can teach you how to show up for yourself while still showing up for others.
People-pleasing is a survival strategy (literally).
If you grew up in a household that was chaotic or unpredictable, it might have felt safer to keep quiet, stay out of the way, and basically make yourself invisible.
You may have been rewarded with praise or positive attention for getting good grades in school, keeping your room clean, and following the rules. If you didn’t meet these expectations, you might have been harshly disciplined or ignored, so your survival brain took over and said “we’re going to make sure to always do the right thing so that you never get in trouble.”
People-pleasing doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with you, it means that your nervous system has gotten stuck in survival mode.
When your nervous system feels unsafe, it reacts. If you’re a woman who people-pleases, your nervous system is most likely reacting with the fawn response (instead of fight-or-flight). Fawning means you go out of your way to appease others and avoid conflict at all costs.
Fawning is a response from the nervous system, not a personality trait.
Fawning doesn’t just show up in your relationships, it also shows up as perfectionism.
If at some point avoiding mistakes protected you from criticism or conflict, your brain learned “being perfect keeps me safe, loved, and accepted.” So now, you strive for perfection and beat yourself up for not meeting your own standards (even though part of you knows they’re not realistic).
Counseling for Women can help you shift out of people-pleasing and perfectionism so you can handle someone being mad or making a mistake without falling apart on the inside and without questioning your worth.
Therapy for Women can teach you how to trust yourself again.
Working with a Women’s Therapist gives you a space to explore the deeper reasons you became stuck in people-pleasing and perfectionism. It helps you recognize and shift the patterns that have kept you in that cycle for too long.
In our work together, you’ll have the chance to reconnect with the parts of you that you rejected, abandoned, or judged in order to survive. When those parts return and are truly witnessed by you, they often bring something with them: clarity. Clarity about who you are, what you want, and what you need.
Women often leave counseling feeling more connected to themselves and their desires. They begin to create an internal sense of safety that allows them to set boundaries without the surge of guilt or lump in their throat. Life starts to feel more balanced and they realize that they are capable of caring for others while also prioritizing themselves.
Most importantly, they learn how to take up space in their own lives.
What to Expect in Therapy Sessions
Before our initial session, you’ll be asked to complete new client paperwork through my online portal. This paperwork covers your history, reason for seeking therapy, and your goals for working with a Women’s Therapist.
When we meet for the first time, my focus is to get to know you as a person and understand how people-pleasing and perfectionism show up in your life. Together, we’ll create a treatment plan that will focus on your goals. The plan is always flexible and can be modified if new things come up.
Treatment for women often involves deep inner work and self-exploration. We want to get to know and hold space for every part of you. Each part of you is valuable. Even the parts you fear are unlovable. They all belong. Healing happens when you welcome all parts of you and approach them with compassion.
My Treatment Approaches
As a Therapist for Women, I use a holistic approach to counseling, integrating mind-body-spirit for deeper, longer lasting healing, while also incorporating evidence-based treatment modalities, including:
Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps us rediscover the parts of you that learned that people-pleasing and perfectionism would keep you safe. We give these parts space to tell you their stories so they (and you) can heal.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help you tell the difference between your thoughts and the thoughts of your inner critic. It can also help you teach your inner critic to be nicer to you.
Polyvagal Theory (PVT) helps you understand the fawn response that comes with people-pleasing and helps you create an internal sense of safety.
Reiki Healing is an energetic approach that strengthens the body’s natural ability to heal itself. It can help open up the specific chakras that often get blocked with people-pleasing and perfectionism. Reiki can be offered as a standalone service, but is also beneficial when integrated into an in-person therapy session in Augusta, GA.
Any combination of these approaches can help you remember that you are worthy of your own love and attention.
When you’re used to being the one worrying about everyone else, you might have some questions before beginning therapy for women.
1. What if I silence my inner critic and then stop caring about other people’s feelings?
Many women starting treatment share this concern. Of course you don't want to lose the part of you that makes you compassionate and caring towards others. Silencing your inner critic isn't our goal. Instead we want to get to know what that part of you needs to feel safe, so that you can still show up for others without abandoning yourself.
2. What if I start sticking up for myself and everyone gets mad or leaves me?
If you've spent your life people-pleasing, you might worry that if you start speaking up and asking for what you need, that others will think you're "too much" and leave. When you begin taking up space and honoring your own needs, relationships can shift, but that doesn’t guarantee that they’ll end. No matter what happens in your relationships (or doesn’t happen), therapy can give you skills to communicate your needs clearly and to care for yourself if others aren’t able to.
3. What if I don’t know what I want or who I am, can therapy still help?
Absolutely. Many women start counseling not knowing who they are or what they want. You don’t have to have it (or yourself) all figured out yet. Therapy gives you space to explore who you are beyond the expectations of others and to figure out what you need to live a life that feels meaningful to you.
Healing can happen when you become the person who would have fiercely protected your younger version.
If you’re a woman ready to explore treatment for people-pleasing and perfectionism, you can Schedule a Session here.
If you’re still on the fence, you can use my Contact Form to ask questions or book a complimentary 15-minute consultation.
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