Coming Home to Yourself So Your Child Can Feel Safe Too

Many parents raising neurodivergent, gifted, adopted, traumatized, or emotionally intense children arrive in therapy feeling confused by their own reactions.

They say things like: “I know better, but I still lose it.” “I feel like I’m failing my child.” “I don’t know why parenting is so activating.”

Often, what’s underneath isn’t just parenting stress. It’s childhood emotional neglect quietly resurfacing.

Not dramatic abuse. Not obvious trauma. But the experience of growing up feeling unseen, unheard, or emotionally alone.

When parents were raised with messages like “don’t be so sensitive” or “stop crying,” their nervous systems learned something powerful: Needs are unsafe. Emotions are too much. Connection is unpredictable.

Those beliefs don’t disappear in adulthood. They show up most strongly in parenting.

And especially when parenting complex children.

When Parenting Reopens Old Emotional Wounds

Children who are neurodivergent, autistic, ADHD, gifted/2e, or impacted by trauma often have intense emotional needs. Their nervous systems require more co-regulation, more flexibility, and more emotional presence.

That’s exactly where childhood emotional neglect gets activated.

When a child is dysregulated, parents may feel:

• overwhelmed
• shut down
• irritated faster than expected
• unsure how to respond
• disconnected from themselves

This isn’t failure. It’s nervous system memory.

Through Parent Coaching Grounded in Brain Science, parents learn how their own developmental experiences shape present reactions — and how awareness creates choice.

Emotional Neglect Doesn’t End in Childhood — It Transfers Into Parenting

Adults who experienced emotional neglect often:

• minimize their own needs
• feel guilty asking for help
• struggle to identify emotions
• believe they must handle everything alone
• worry they are “too much” or “not enough”

Parenting exposes these patterns quickly.

In Online Parent Therapy When Parenting Is Hard, parents begin rebuilding a relationship with their own emotional world — often for the first time.

This is where healing begins: coming home to yourself.

Creating a Home Where Feelings Matter

Children don’t need perfect parents. They need emotionally present ones.

Through Online Family Therapy in California, families learn how to create homes where emotions are welcomed instead of avoided, and where repair matters more than perfection.

For families raising neurodivergent children, Family Counseling for Parents of ADHD and Neurodiversity helps parents respond to intensity with steadiness rather than self-criticism.

For gifted and twice-exceptional children, Family Counseling for Gifted/2e supports parents in holding sensitivity and complexity without becoming overwhelmed.

When Emotional Neglect Intersects With Trauma, Adoption, or Co-Parenting

Childhood emotional neglect rarely exists in isolation. It often overlaps with trauma, attachment disruptions, or relational stress.

Through Online Family Trauma Therapy, parents learn how past experiences shape present nervous system responses.

Adoptive families receive specialized support through Post-Adoption Services, where identity, belonging, and attachment are central.

Families navigating separation or conflict find support through Co-parenting Therapy Near Me, helping children feel emotionally safe across households.

Parenting as a Way Home

Healing childhood emotional neglect is not about blaming parents from the past. It’s about building emotional safety in the present.

When parents feel seen, children feel safer. When parents feel grounded, children regulate more easily. When parents come home to themselves, children come home too.

This is the heart of Welcome Home Family Therapy.

Let’s Talk First. No Pressure

If you're still reading, maybe you're feeling a spark of hope. Or maybe you're skeptical, and that’s okay too. 

To get started, we will have a brief screening phone call and if it feels right, we will schedule an hour-long, free phone consultation to see if we are a good match for therapy. This is my offering to you, at a time when you are struggling the most.

Book a free Discovery Call: Click here

FAQs

Why do I get so triggered by my child’s emotions?

Parenting activates your own early emotional experiences. If feelings weren’t safe in childhood, your nervous system may react quickly when your child has big emotions.

Can childhood emotional neglect affect my parenting?

Yes. Emotional neglect often shows up as difficulty regulating stress, identifying emotions, or feeling confident in parenting decisions.

Can therapy help even if my child isn’t in therapy?

Absolutely. Parent-focused work often changes family dynamics quickly because children respond to shifts in emotional safety.

Is this approach helpful for ADHD, autism, and gifted children?

Especially. Neurodivergent and gifted nervous systems are highly sensitive to emotional tone and regulation.

Can I heal emotional neglect while raising my child?

Yes. Parenting can become part of the healing process when supported with compassion and understanding.

What can I do while waiting for therapy to start?

You can listen to the podcast, "The Baffling Behavior Show." This podcast is recorded by my mentor, Robyn Gobbel. Listening will give you a feel of how we will be working together. You can listen here.

You Deserve Support

We will have a brief screening phone call and if it feels right, we will schedule an hour-long, free phone consultation to see if we are a good match for therapy. This is my offering to you, at a time when you are struggling the most.

Book a free Discovery Call: Click here