Attachment & Relational Therapy
We learn who we are in relationships. That’s also where we heal.
Maybe you feel anxious when someone pulls away, guarded when they get close, or find yourself repeating patterns you swore you’d leave behind.
Attachment and relational therapy looks at how your earliest relationships shaped your expectations of love, safety, and yourself. Those early experiences form internal templates that often run quietly in the background of every relationship you have.
This approach uses the therapy relationship itself as a place of repair: a consistent, attuned connection where you can notice old patterns, try new ones, and experience what secure connection feels like.
Telehealth for NY, FL, MI residents
“Why do my relationships always feel this hard?”
Because your earliest relationships taught your nervous system what to expect from closeness.
Attachment and relational therapy may help if you notice:
Fear of abandonment or rejection
Difficulty trusting others, or yourself
Pulling away when people get close
People-pleasing or losing yourself in relationships
Feeling unworthy of love or care
Patterns that repeat across different relationships
These patterns made sense once. They don’t have to run your life now.
HOW ATTACHMENT & RELATIONAL THERAPY WORKS
Old templates can be updated.
Attachment research shows that patterns formed in early relationships can shift through new experiences of safe, consistent connection. This is sometimes called earned security.
In therapy, we explore your relationship history, notice how old patterns show up in the present, including with me, and practice new ways of relating in a space where it’s safe to do so.
Security can be built at any age.
Telehealth for NY, FL, MI residents
WHAT IT CAN HELP WITH
Wherever connection feels complicated.
Attachment-focused work is helpful for relationship difficulties, complex trauma rooted in early relationships, depression and loneliness, and grief after the loss of an important bond.
Therapy for relationship issues →
WHAT THE PROCESS LOOKS LIKE
Understand. Repair. Practice.
Relational therapy is collaborative and paced. We build trust first, then work with the patterns and wounds that make closeness feel unsafe.
PHASE 1
Understanding Your Story
We explore your early relationships and the beliefs about yourself and others that grew from them.
PHASE 2
Repairing Old Wounds
We work with the hurt, longing, and protective strategies underneath your patterns, often alongside IFS or EMDR.
PHASE 3
Practicing Secure Connection
We build skills for trust, boundaries, and naming your needs, and you bring them into your relationships outside of therapy.
Often combined with: Internal Family Systems (IFS) · EMDR Therapy · Somatic Therapy
New to therapy, or not sure which approach fits? Explore my holistic approach →
AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH
Whole-person care, every step of the way.
One method may guide our work, but it’s never the only one. Your past lives in your mind, body, and relationships. I combine evidence-based and mind-body approaches to help you work through the past and move forward with more support, clarity and confidence.
WHAT A SESSION FEELS LIKE
The relationship itself is part of the healing.
Sessions take place by secure telehealth, from a space where you feel comfortable. Over time, our working relationship becomes a place to notice what comes up for you in connection, say what you need, and experience being met with consistency and care.
You don’t have to earn your place here.
WHAT CHANGES AS THE WORK UNFOLDS
Closeness feels safer.
Feeling more secure and less anxious in relationships
Trusting yourself and others more
Setting boundaries without fear of losing people
Asking for what you need
Choosing relationships that are good for you
A steadier, kinder relationship with yourself
Telehealth for NY, FL, MI residents
MEET YOUR THERAPIST
Lisa Kent, LCSW
CCTP-II · EMDR-C
Attachment is at the heart of how I understand people. The therapy relationship itself becomes a place to experience safety and consistency, while we explore how early relationships shaped the way you connect and practice new patterns that feel more secure.
QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
Attachment & relational therapy FAQs
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Attachment styles describe common patterns in how people seek closeness and respond to separation, often grouped as secure, anxious, avoidant, and disorganized. They’re useful starting points, not fixed labels. Most people show a mix, and patterns can change.
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No. This is individual therapy focused on your patterns and history. The changes you make often ripple into your relationships, whether or not a partner is involved.
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We’ll explore your history because it helps make sense of the present, but always at your pace. The focus is on how those experiences show up in your life now, and what you want to change.
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Yes. Research on earned security shows that people can develop more secure ways of relating through new, consistent relationships, including a therapeutic one.
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Our nervous systems are wired for connection. Safe relationships help the body settle, while conflict, rejection, or unpredictability can keep it on alert. That’s why relational healing often shows up physically, too, in sleep, stress, and overall wellbeing.
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That makes sense, especially if relationships have hurt you. We’ll go slowly, and you’re always welcome to name it when something doesn’t feel right. Working through that together is often part of the healing.
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It’s a free, no-pressure 15-minute video call. We’ll talk briefly about what’s bringing you to therapy and what you’re hoping for, I’ll answer your questions about how I work, fees, and out-of-network reimbursement, and together we’ll decide whether we’re a good fit. You don’t need to prepare anything, and there’s no obligation to book.
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Sessions are $200 per hour of work together. I am in-network with BCBS and BCN plans for Michigan residents. For New York and Florida residents, I partner with Mentaya to help you use your out-of-network benefits. Depending on your plan, up to 80% of your session cost can be reimbursed, and all of your claims are handled for you. You can check your benefits here (opens in a new window), or we can review them together during your free consultation.
HEALING THROUGH RECONNECTION
You deserve relationships that feel safe.
Healing reaches every part of you: your mind, your body, your relationships, and your sense of meaning. You deserve care that sees all of it.
Telehealth for NY, FL, MI residents
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Read more from Ouro House
Essays on attachment, the trauma responses, and how early experiences shape the way we love.
