Toxic parents and relationships therapy in Denver
Process and heal from negativity and trauma caused by people in your life.
Therapists for toxic parenting and relationships
At My Denver Therapy, our therapists understand that growing up in a toxic environment can have profound, negative, and long-lasting effects on an individual’s mental health and well-being. If you’ve grown up with a toxic parent or relationship, you’re not alone—nearly 10% of Americans are estranged from a parent or child.
Our specialized toxic parent therapy sessions are designed to help you navigate the complex emotions and patterns that may have developed due to your upbringing or complex relationships, empowering you to lead a more fulfilling and autonomous life.
Toxic parenting and relationships often include
- Being too controlling: A toxic parent might try to run their child’s life, not letting them make their own decisions.
- Being very demanding: A common sign of toxic parenting is expecting too much from their child, making them feel stressed or pressured.
- Being mean or hurtful: Toxic parents often say mean things to their child or make them feel bad about themselves.
Toxic parents can make it hard for their children, even as adults, to feel good about themselves and have healthy relationships later in life. It’s important to remember that being a toxic parent isn’t always about obvious emotional abuse. Sometimes, even small things can be harmful.
If you are struggling with the lasting effects of toxic parenting, our therapists here to help. Contact us today to schedule a consultation in Denver, Greenwood Village, or Lone Tree.
Signs of toxic parenting
- Controlling and demanding behavior: Toxic parents often exert excessive control over their children’s lives, stifling their independence and self-expression.
- Emotional manipulation: They may use guilt, shame, or fear to control their children’s behavior.
- Gaslighting: Toxic parents may deny or minimize their children’s experiences, making them question their own reality.
- Neglect: They may neglect their children’s emotional, social, or physical needs.
- Abuse: Toxic parents may engage in physical, emotional, or verbal abuse.
- Self-centered: Toxic parents prioritize their needs over their child’s.
- Punitive: Punishment typically involves harsh discipline and punishment.
- Jealous: Instead of being supportive, they often resent their child’s relationships.
- Unsupportive: They don’t encourage or recognize their child’s achievements.
- Easily offended: Takes criticism or questioning as disrespect.
- Disrespectful: Toxic parents don’t respect their child’s boundaries or opinions.
- Embarrassing: Humiliates their child intentionally and avoids taking responsibility for their own actions.
- Outbursts: Toxic people and parents often have frequent, unpredictable emotional outbursts.
Negative impact of toxic parenting
Growing up with a toxic parent can have a significant impact on a child’s mental health and well-being. This can include:
- Low self-esteem: Toxic parents often undermine their children’s self-worth, leading to feelings of inadequacy and insecurity.
- Difficulty forming healthy relationships: Toxic parenting can make it difficult for individuals to trust others and establish healthy boundaries.
- Anxiety and depression: The emotional turmoil caused by toxic parenting can lead to anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues.
- Substance abuse: As a coping mechanism, individuals may turn to substance abuse to numb their pain.
- Relationship difficulties: Toxic parenting can contribute to unhealthy relationship patterns, such as codependency or people-pleasing.
You can heal from toxic parenting
Working with a therapist, you can heal from the effects of toxic parenting. Therapy sessions can help you:
- Understand the impact of your upbringing: We will explore the ways in which your toxic parent’s behavior has affected you.
- Develop coping mechanisms: Learn healthy strategies to manage the emotional challenges you may be facing.
- Build healthy boundaries: Establish boundaries with your toxic parent or other challenging individuals in your life.
- Improve your self-esteem: Develop a stronger sense of self-worth and confidence.
- Heal past wounds: Address the emotional trauma caused by your upbringing.
- Develop healthier relationships: Learn how to form and maintain healthy relationships.
Other Specialties
Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you – all of the expectations, all of the beliefs – and becoming who you are.
Rachel Naomi Remen
Meet our therapists
My Denver Therapy is one of the largest woman-owned therapy private practices in Colorado with many of the best, most requested mental health therapists in the Denver Metro area.
As a therapist-owned practice with decades of combined experience, we care about seeing our clients heal, grow, and thrive. We’re one of the only therapy practices in Colorado with licensed professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, addiction counselors, social workers, and psychiatric nurse practitioners who actively see new clients. Whether you’re an adult, teen, young adult, couple, or family, our inclusive therapist team is built to specialize in you.
Our practice started with one therapist in a shared office suite, but we’ve grown to help thousands of people in Colorado by providing in-person therapy at our conveniently located Denver Metro area counseling offices in Denver, Greenwood Village, and Lone Tree, plus online therapy for clients throughout Colorado. Because of the way our team works, our therapists also provide consultation for other therapists and private practices in the Denver Metro area.
Our inclusive therapists provide some of the most innovative, effective, and in-demand forms of therapy available today, including EMDR, Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, CBT, and IFS. We also have more therapists trained in Ketamine-assisted therapy, EMDR, and more teen therapists and young adult counselors than nearly every other private practice in Denver.
We know that clients want to find the best therapists in Denver, so our team includes therapists with different backgrounds, specialities, and experiences to help you find the right fit. We’ll match you with one of our therapists who is the best for your goals, location, budget, and schedule to help you get started quickly.
We’re out of network for insurance, Tricare, and are unable to take Medicaid, but most of our therapists’ rates are lower than the local and national averages for therapy.
All of our therapists take a client-focused approach to counseling and approach each session with a commitment to your progress and growth.
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Meridian
- With therapists and counselors in Denver, Greenwood Village, and Lone Tree, My Denver Therapy provides in-person mental health counseling for adults, teens, couples, and families in Colorado.
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