You grew up with a sibling who had a chronic illness or special needs. It’s catching up to you.

You probably heard growing up that mom and dad needed to pay special attention to your sibling because he/she needed it more.

You learned to make yourself smaller.

Now your childhood is catching up with you and are unsure of how to process it. You love your sibling, but you also need to process your emotions. Maybe you felt anger, jealousy, sadness, or even hatred. Most of all, you feel shame for feeling anything at all.

I can help you make sense of it.

What do well-siblings work on in counseling?

People-pleasing, perfectionism, and codependency:

You likely developed remarkable empathy, compassion, and adaptability in your childhood. This profound ability to empathize with and care for others can lead to issues with people-pleasing, perfectionism, and codependency.

Guilt, shame, and anxiety:

You carry guilt and shame for feeling a range of emotions, including resentment, jealousy, or even relief when your sibling wasn’t around.

Isolation and identity confusion:

Your experiences and responsibilities differed from your peers growing up. No one could really understand you then, and not much has changed now.

Trauma

Witnessing your sibling’s medical and/or behavioral events can be traumatizing. I offer EMDR to address and treat trauma.