Family Estrangement Therapy
Navigating Difficult Relationships With Parents and Family Members
Dr. Christine Henry is a licensed psychologist with over 20 years of clinical experience. She provides online therapy for adults navigating family estrangement, emotionally immature parents, complicated family relationships, and the lasting effects of childhood experiences. Her work also explores how ADHD, autism, and other forms of neurodivergence may influence family dynamics.
Available throughout Texas and PSYPACT states.
When Family Relationships Leave You Feeling Hurt, Guilty, or Misunderstood
You've spent years trying to improve your relationship with a parent. You've explained your feelings, softened your tone, set boundaries, or just kept your mouth shut to avoid another argument. And somehow, you still end up feeling like you're the problem.
Sound familiar?
“After everything I've done for you, this is how you treat me?”
“You're remembering it wrong.”
“You're so sensitive. You take everything I say and blow it out of proportion.”
“You think you had it bad? You should have seen how I grew up.”
Then there are the comments about your weight, your parenting, your political or religious beliefs, or how you spend your money. Sometimes it's not even what they say. It's how you feel after spending time with them.
Exhausted. Frustrated. Guilty. Like you're twelve years old again.
And despite knowing how these interactions affect you, you still find yourself wondering, Am I overreacting? Was it really that bad?
You know your parents have their own struggles. Maybe they really did do the best they could with what they knew at the time. But that doesn't mean your experiences didn't affect you.
You might be considering less contact, wondering if estrangement is the right choice, or just trying to understand why things have always been so difficult.
You don't have to have that figured out to start talking about it.
Therapy for the Ones Who’ve Tried Everything
You've explained yourself, tried setting boundaries, and made excuses for their behavior. You've probably read books, listened to podcasts, or talked about your family in therapy before. And you're exhausted.
You might be asking yourself:
Why do I feel so guilty when I know this relationship is hurting me?
Is low contact enough, or is it time to go no contact?
How do I set boundaries without being made out to be the villain?
Could ADHD or autism, in myself or my family, explain some of what's happened?
How could a parent treat their child this way? I would never do that to mine.
Sometimes understanding why your parents behave the way they do only makes things more complicated. You can recognize their struggles and still be hurt by their choices.
In therapy, we'll look at what's happened, why these relationships are so difficult to navigate, and what you want moving forward. I'm not here to tell you to cut ties or convince you to reconcile. We'll figure out what makes sense for you.
If you're wondering whether therapy might help, I offer a free 20-minute video consultation. We can talk about what's bringing you to therapy, how I work, and whether we'd be a good fit.
In therapy, we can explore:
The guilt that comes with setting boundaries or limiting contact.
The grief of accepting that your family may never give you what you've needed from them.
How to navigate holidays, family expectations, and pressure from other relatives.
What level of contact, if any, feels right for you.
If you're wondering whether therapy might help, I offer a free 20-minute video consultation. We can talk about what's bringing you to therapy, how I work, and whether we'd be a good fit..
You Can Grieve and Still Protect Yourself
Estrangement doesn't always mean cutting someone off completely. Sometimes it means limiting phone calls, skipping family gatherings, or accepting that your relationship with a parent may never be what you hoped it would be. And that can bring up a lot of grief, even when you're the one choosing distance.
You don't have to know whether you want to set boundaries, limit contact, or walk away before starting therapy. We can sort through those complicated feelings together and figure out what makes sense for you.
I offer a free 20-minute video consultation where we can talk about what you're looking for, how I work, and whether we'd be a good fit. No phone call needed.
When Neurodivergence Is Part of Your Family Story
Sometimes discovering you're ADHD or autistic changes how you look at your childhood. Things you were criticized for, like being too sensitive, asking too many questions, or needing things done a certain way, may make more sense now.
Or maybe you're starting to recognize possible ADHD or autistic traits in a parent. You wonder whether differences in communication, emotional regulation, or unrecognized support needs contributed to some of the difficulties in your relationship.
And sometimes, it's a little of both.
Understanding neurodivergence can help you make sense of family patterns that have been confusing or painful for years. But it doesn't explain everything, and it doesn't mean you have to dismiss the impact those experiences had on you.
We can explore all of that without assuming anyone's neurodivergence is the problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
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No, I don’t provide family/joint sessions for estrangement. My work is individual therapy focused on helping you process what happened, reduce guilt, and build boundaries and a level of contact (or distance) that protects your emotional safety.
This isn’t about trying to convince the other person to change. It’s about giving you space to make sense of what’s happened and decide what kind of contact (or distance) feels right and sustainable for you.
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Not at all. Some clients have gone no contact, others are low contact, and some are still deciding what’s right for them. You’re welcome here no matter where you are in that process.
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No. My job isn’t to make that decision for you, it’s to give you a safe, nonjudgmental space to explore your options, understand your feelings, and figure out what works best for your peace and well-being.
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That’s incredibly common. We’ll talk about where that guilt comes from, how to separate it from your values, and how to make choices that protect your emotional health without being swallowed by self-blame.
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We can create a plan for navigating those situations from setting boundaries in advance to handling conversations that cross the line so you feel more in control and less drained afterward.
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Absolutely. Estrangement can happen in many forms , parents, siblings, extended relatives and the grief, guilt, and complexity are valid in every case.
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I don’t work with parents who are trying to understand or repair estrangement with their adult children. My focus is on supporting adult children who’ve chosen distance, limited contact, or no contact in order to protect their own well-being. If you’re a parent in this situation, there are other therapists and resources specifically designed to support you.
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It often includes:
Untangling guilt, obligation, and fear from what’s true now
Clarifying what level of contact is safe (and what isn’t)
Boundary scripts and “exit plans” for calls/visits/holidays
Processing grief, anger, sadness, and the loss of the parent you needed
Rebuilding self-trust and reducing rumination after interactions
Supporting you through milestones (holidays, birthdays, big life events)
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That’s not my approach. This work is about honesty, grief, boundaries, and healing, not minimizing, bypassing, or forcing forgiveness.
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A helpful clue is the pattern. If you consistently leave interactions feeling blamed, dismissed, guilty, or like you have to prove your reality, that’s not “being too sensitive.” Emotional immaturity often looks like defensiveness, denial, minimization, and making your feelings the problem.
When Another Type of Support May Be More Helpful
Family therapy, mediation, or reunification counseling. I work with individuals navigating difficult family relationships, not with family members together to repair or restore relationships.
Therapy for parents whose adult children have cut off contact. My work focuses on adult children who are navigating difficult relationships with their parents, including those considering or experiencing estrangement. I don't provide therapy specifically for parents trying to understand or repair an estrangement initiated by their adult child.
A therapist who will tell you whether to cut ties or reconcile. I won't make that decision for you or assume that estrangement is the best choice. We'll explore your experiences and what you want from the relationship.
Someone to diagnose your parent or other family members. We can talk about emotionally immature behavior, possible neurodivergence, and other family patterns, but I can't diagnose someone I haven't evaluated.
A highly structured approach to therapy. I don't provide a predetermined roadmap, weekly worksheets, or a set number of sessions. My approach is conversational and collaborative, and we'll follow what feels important to you.
Crisis intervention or a higher level of care. If you're experiencing significant or ongoing self-harm, frequent suicidal crises, or need after hours crisis support, a provider who offers more intensive services would be a better fit.
If you're looking for one of these services, I'd encourage you to find a therapist who specializes in what you need. Finding the right fit matters, and not every therapist is going to be the right person for every situation.
Not Ready for Therapy? Want to Explore More on Your Own?
Sometimes you just need time to sort through what you're feeling and understand what's happening in your family before you're ready to talk to someone about it.
I've put together a Family Estrangement Resource Page with articles, books, podcasts, and videos about emotionally immature parents, setting boundaries, deciding whether to limit or end contact, and navigating complicated family relationships.
There are also resources on neurodivergence and estrangement, sibling relationships, dealing with aging parents, and the grief that can come with these decisions.
Take what feels helpful and come back to the rest whenever you're ready. There's no rush to figure it all out.