Sometimes I feel like I’m watching myself in relationships, like a movie. I want closeness, but I also feel numb.

Session Goal:

Begin identifying Emma’s relational dynamics and defenses.

Milestones:

Exploring defense mechanisms and transference

Tips for Therapist:

Observe and reflect on distancing behaviors. Introduce the concept of emotional defenses (e.g., detachment, idealization). Normalize ambivalence about intimacy.

I used to write love stories where the heroine always left. It felt safer that way.

Session Goal:

Explore childhood relational patterns and unconscious templates.

Milestones:

Attachment history exploration

Tips for Therapist:

Invite Emma to reflect on early attachment experiences and formative narratives. Gently explore the emotional logic behind her distancing strategies.

If someone really saw me, I don’t think they’d stay. So I make sure they don’t get that close.

Session Goal:

Increase insight into Emma’s defenses and their protective functions.

Milestones:

Interpretation of defenses and conflict

Tips for Therapist:

Interpret how fear of rejection fuels defensive detachment. Balance insight with validation. Explore the cost and benefit of these defenses.

Sometimes I feel this ache in my chest, like I’m missing something I can’t name.

Session Goal:

Help Emma connect with deeper emotional needs and longings.

Milestones:

Affect labeling and emotional expression

Tips for Therapist:

Create space for Emma to name and stay with core emotions. Use reflective statements to deepen emotional awareness and foster self-compassion.

I told a friend how I really felt about something — and they didn’t leave. I didn’t expect that.

Session Goal:

Support Emma in tolerating closeness and its emotional impact.

Milestones:

Working through and corrective experiences

Tips for Therapist:

Highlight Emma’s action as a shift from old patterns. Explore her emotional response to being seen and accepted. Reinforce the safety of connection.

I still feel the pull to run sometimes, but I’m also starting to believe that maybe I don’t have to.

Session Goal:

Consolidate relational insights and foster integration.

Milestones:

Self-reflection and relational integration

Tips for Therapist:

Review Emma’s growth and patterns she’s worked through. Support her in naming her evolving relational identity and her hopes for future connection.