Barbara Parchment

I work with adults who seem to have it all together on the outside but often struggle internally with anxiety, self-doubt, people-pleasing, difficulty setting boundaries, or feeling responsible for everyone around them. Many of my clients grew up in family environments where they learned to keep the peace, put their own needs aside, or take care of others, and are now recognizing how those patterns continue to show up in their relationships, self-worth, and emotional well-being.

I also have a particular interest in working with mothers who find that becoming a parent has brought up parts of their own childhood, family relationships, or past experiences in unexpected ways. Motherhood can sometimes make us reflect differently on how we were raised, what we needed growing up, and the patterns we want—or don’t want—to carry forward with our own children.

I am an EMDRIA Certified EMDR Therapist and certified in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH-C). My work focuses on helping clients better understand where their patterns come from, heal from experiences that continue to affect them, and develop healthier relationships with themselves and others.

My approach is warm, collaborative, and supportive, but I also believe therapy should help you look beneath the surface. We may explore not only what you are struggling with today, but also where certain patterns began and why they may have once helped you cope, even if they are no longer serving you.

I integrate EMDR, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), DBT-informed skills, mindfulness, and other approaches based on your individual needs. Our work may involve exploring family-of-origin and relationship patterns, strengthening boundaries, reducing people-pleasing, challenging negative beliefs about yourself, improving communication, and learning to manage anxiety and difficult emotions.

I believe insight is important, but therapy is also about creating change. My goal is to help you understand yourself with greater compassion while developing healthier ways of responding to yourself, your relationships, and the experiences that have shaped you.

Our first session is an opportunity for me to learn more about you, what has been bringing you to therapy, and what you would like to be different. We’ll talk about what is happening in your life now, relevant parts of your history and relationships, and any patterns you have started noticing that you would like to better understand or change.

While the first session does involve gathering information, I want it to feel like a conversation rather than an interview. You don’t have to tell your entire story in one session or know exactly where to begin—we’ll figure that out together.

We’ll also begin identifying your goals and what our work together might look like. My hope is that you leave with a sense that you were able to be yourself, felt understood, and have a clearer direction for moving forward.