Robin Pepper, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist

09/22/2024

The motto of Brainspotting is “where you look affects how you feel” 👀 🧠

Our eyes and brains are intricately woven together. Just as the eyes naturally scan the outside environment for information, they can also be used to scan our inside environments-our brains-for information.

Brainspotting strategically utilises the clients visual field to access their brains self-scanning and self-healing properties.

03/19/2024

Attachment Theory: 4 Types & Characteristics

Dismissive-Avoidant (Referred to as ‘Avoidant’)
Someone who has adopted a dismissive-avoidant style perpetuates a sense of defectiveness and uncertainty in their relationships. They typically show the following characteristics:
• Appear withdrawn
• Emotionally distant in relationships
• Unlikely to connect at an intimate level
• Highly independent
• Find close involvement with their partners difficult
• Feel overwhelmed when heavily relied upon

As a result, the individual may retreat from the relationship physically and emotionally.

Fearful-Avoidant (Referred to as ‘Disorganized’ or “Vacillator”)
An individual who experienced an untrusting relationship with caregivers (they may have been addicts or emotionally unwell) during childhood may be fearful-avoidant across all adult relationships (romantic and otherwise). They typically:
• Feel unworthy
• Are ambivalent in relationships
• Regularly shift between being distant and vulnerable
• Over-analyze micro expressions, such as body language, to look for betrayal
• Fail to trust naturally
• Feel betrayal is always just around the corner

Anxious Attachment (Referred to as “Insecure” Attachment)
Anxious attachment also results from inconsistency during childhood, often the result of absenteeism from caregivers. They typically:
• Are high sacrificing people-pleasers
• Fear rejection
• Have a heightened fear of being abandoned
• Overcompensate in adult relationships
• Sacrifice their own needs to maintain relationships

The individual most likely lacked consistent and predictable caregiving as a child, leaving them expecting to be rejected.
Secure Attachment
Individuals with a secure attachment style often have experienced available and supportive parents. They typically:
• Feel secure in relationships
• Are supportive, open, and available in their relationships
• Have the potential to shift individuals in other attachment styles to a more secure one

Those with a secure attachment style “were taught you can be safe while being vulnerable and that their needs were worthy of being met.”

Developed by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth in the 1960s, attachment theory recognizes the importance of the child’s dependence on their caregiver (Bowlby, 1988). Such an early relationship can lead to four different attachment styles with corresponding underlying characteristics.

08/26/2023

"Trauma compromises our ability to engage with others by replacing patterns of connection with patterns of protection." - Stephen Porges

08/24/2023

I am in-network for Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Cigna, Aetna, United Healthcare and Oxford, but I can also provide a superbill for my out-of-network clients and help with reimbursement. Please reach out with any questions, I am happy to work with you to keep therapy affordable.

Robin Pepper, Marriage & Family Therapist, Fair Oaks, CA, 95628, (916) 581-5617, Help and Guidance to Live Your Best Life! My desire is to journey alongside you to help you achieve fulfillment, healing, and hope in your own life. The therapeutic process is a collaborative one in which you and I work...

08/24/2023

I am in-network for Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Cigna, Aetna, and Oxford, but I can also provide a superbill for my out-of-network clients and help with reimbursement. Please reach out with any questions, I am happy to work with you to keep therapy affordable.

Robin Pepper, Marriage & Family Therapist, Fair Oaks, CA, 95628, (916) 581-5617, Help and Guidance to Live Your Best Life! My desire is to journey alongside you to help you achieve fulfillment, healing, and hope in your own life. The therapeutic process is a collaborative one in which you and I work...

02/03/2023

02/01/2023

www.counselingwithrobinpepper.com

Robin Pepper, LMFT Individual, couples, and family counseling