Childhood Emotional Neglect Therapy -

Online Therapy UK & Europe and worldwide

This page focuses specifically on Childhood Emotional Neglect (CEN), rather than trauma involving specific events or flashbacks. For CPTSD please see here.

I work with adults who’ve achieved a lot; careers, degrees, relationships but still feel disconnected, empty, or unsure what they really want. Childhood emotional neglect (CEN) isn’t always obvious: you might have been told “nothing bad happened” or “others had it worse”, and learned to shut down your feelings. I can help you understand how childhood experiences affected your adult life and identify what actually needs to change.

You might not even realise it’s Childhood Emotional Neglect

People often find me after reading Dr. Jonice Webb’s ‘Running on Empty’ and want someone who can support them in learning what to do next. 

Many people with CEN grew up in families where feelings were ignored, dismissed, or considered too much trouble. You may have learned to cope by shutting down your emotions but the impact shows up in adult life in ways that can feel confusing or frustrating.

You might feel:

• Empty, disconnected, or numb

• Unsure of what you even feel

• Like you need “too much” from people

• Lonely, even when surrounded by others

• Like something is missing but you can’t put your finger on it

• Like you don’t belong

It’s often invisible to others, which can be confusing for other people and cause the person suffering to doubt themselves

Symptoms of Childhood Emotional Neglect

Many people have difficulty in relationships with their partners or children. You might feel distant or unsure of how not to repeat difficult patterns you saw at home.

People often don't even realise they were affected by childhood emotional neglect until they enter a relationship that matters to them. The problems were already there of course, but close relationships have a way of exposing patterns that were previously hidden. Most people spend far less time with friends than they do with a partner. Close relationships involve vulnerability, dependency, conflict and emotional intimacy, which can expose patterns that were easy to avoid elsewhere.

You might worry that what happened to you wasn’t bad enough to count. You might have thought your childhood was perfectly normal and feel guilty about blaming your parents especially if they were doing their best in difficult circumstances or doing better than their parents.

If you haven’t experienced feeling safe or supported it’s very hard to know how it works or what exactly you need to do differently. Things like tone of voice, communication style and how to argue effectively can all be learned and lead to easier family dynamics.

Learn more about Childhood Emotional Neglect in my blog post here.

How Therapy helps

We can’t change what happened, but we can work on what matters now:

• Accept all your emotions without judgment

• Identify your feelings and express them clearly

• Set realistic expectations of yourself and others

• Practice being yourself in therapy (because you didn’t learn who you were as a kid)

• Understanding what gets in the way of connection and how to change it

It’s not too late; change is possible in your 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond.

Who I work with

I work with adults across the UK and Europe & ROW who want to change how they interact with family or their partner. Many are smart, accomplished, and motivated, but feel stuck despite external success.

We focus on spotting the patterns that keep you stuck and figuring out what actually needs to change. So you can get the kind of connections you really want and not the ones you learned to put up with as a kid.

Online Childhood Emotional Neglect Therapy

• Format: Online via Zoom

• Duration: 50 minutes

• Cost: £130 per session

• Frequency: Weekly recommended (minimum twice per month)