Trauma & Attachment Therapy in Pasadena, CA

Insight is powerful. Integration is transformative.

Pasadena therapy for thoughtful, high-functioning adults and relationships who feel stuck in patterns they can’t think their way out of

“What we run from pursues us. What we face transforms us.”

– David Kessler –

I'm so glad you're here.

I’m Chloé (she/her), a Pasadena therapist (LMFT), proud cat mom, long-walk enthusiast, and someone who cares deeply about creating a space where you can breathe and not have to hold everything together alone.

You might:

  • be highly capable in your work, yet feel unsettled or disconnected inside
  • notice old wounds resurfacing in everyday moments
  • cope by pushing through, overthinking, or staying strong for everyone else
  • feel anxious, reactive, or distant in relationships that matter most to you
  • want deeper connection, but not know how to create it safely

I specialize in work with individuals, couples, and families navigating the impact of trauma and dissociation, challenges in relationships, binge eating, and feeling stuck. My approach is collaborative, trauma-informed, and grounded in nervous-system care, integrating parts-based models, EMDR, and Emotionally Focused Therapy while staying attuned to pacing, safety, and the systems that shape our lives.

Specializing in Trauma Healing & Attachment Dynamics for High Achievers

I believe that many of the “symptoms” clients experience can be traced back to disruptions in their experience of safety (emotional and/or physical) and connection, and that these daily challenges probably make a whole lot of sense in the context of what they’ve had to do to survive throughout their lives.

I provide a collaborative healing space where you feel seen, supported, and empowered to explore your experiences and move toward healing.

Do you notice that your mind understands why you feel the way you do, but your body and feelings haven’t caught up?

Maybe you’re outwardly high-functioning and have insight about your life story, but behind the scenes, you’re still feeling stuck in overwhelming emotions, checked out, or repeating negative relationship patterns. Or maybe you feel like your life has been “fine,” so it feels confusing why you struggle on the inside at all!

These experiences can feel uncomfortable and are often the perfect place to start therapy.

In-Person Therapy in Pasadena, California

My office is located in the heart of Pasadena, California, and I welcome clients from throughout the surrounding area, including South Pasadena, San Marino, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, Monrovia, Altadena, Temple City, San Gabriel, Alhambra, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Glendale, Eagle Rock, Highland Park, and beyond.

Convenient, Accessible Therapy Wherever You Are

For those who prefer the flexibility of remote sessions, I also provide convenient, secure telehealth sessions for clients across California. Enjoy the flexibility of therapy from the comfort and privacy of your home.

Individual, Couples, and Family Therapy in Pasadena, CA

I work with people who often feel like they’re “holding it all together” on the outside while struggling inside, including but not limited to, high achievers, trauma survivors, chronic dieters, and those with complicated relationship histories.

You may be carrying so much on your own, and you don’t have to figure it all out alone. Therapy can be a place to slow down, explore your inner world and relationships with the safety of a trusted professional, and reconnect with all parts of yourself so you can show up in the world the way you want with more ease and less effort.

I’m happy to offer folks a 15- to 20-minute consultation phone or video call as a low-pressure chance to answer questions and see if we’re a good fit.

Connect on Instagram

Hi, (or should I say, hi again). 👋🏼 I’m Chloé, and if we haven’t met yet, I’m so glad you’re here. I’m a trauma and attachment therapist based in Pasadena, and I work with individuals, couples, and families who are navigating the kind of pain that often doesn’t have a simple name. The kind that lives in the body. That shows up in relationships. That makes you feel like you’re too much, or not enough, or somehow both at once. My work draws on parts-based approaches (like Internal Family Systems and ego state therapy), emotionally focused therapy, EMDR, and somatic approaches… which is a lot of words that essentially mean: we go slowly, we listen to all the parts of you, and we work with what your nervous system is actually holding, not just what your mind can articulate. What lights me up about this work is something I get to witness all the time, and it never gets old. It’s what happens when enough trust has been built that something new becomes possible. New experiences of having someone be there in what has previously been held alone, often for a very long time. New experiences of being able to tolerate emotions that once felt completely impossible. New understandings of yourself, not that you’re broken, but that everything you’re experiencing actually makes sense. New experiences of feeling genuine connection and care. And then all the new opportunities and choices that can open up from there. That’s what I get to be part of. That’s why I do this. I see clients in-person here in Pasadena and via telehealth across California. I’d love to connect if something here resonates. - - - 🌱 Chloé Cavelier d'Esclavelles, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist #154961 🌀 Attachment & Trauma Therapy for Individuals & Relationships 🌳 In-Person Therapy in Pasadena 🖥️ Online Therapy for California Clients ✨ Free 15-Minute Consultation Call (link in bio)
Regulated doesn’t mean calm. It doesn’t mean unbothered. It doesn’t mean you’ve transcended your feelings. It means you have enough ground under you to actually feel them, without being swept away. That’s the “window of tolerance.” And inside it, regulation is a process: name what you’re feeling, use a grounding tool to stay present with it, and respond to what it needs. Notice. Stay. Respond. One important nuance though: sometimes overwhelming feelings are exactly the right response. Grief after loss. Fear in genuine danger. Rage at real injustice. The window of tolerance is not about staying composed all the time. This reframe is about what happens when our nervous system responds as though we're in danger when we're not, when old trauma pulls us outside that window in moments that echo the past. That's where the real work lives. If this reframe is sparking something and you’re curious about exploring it through therapy, I’d love to connect. Link in bio to book a free 15-minute consultation. - - - 🌱 Chloé Cavelier d’Esclavelles, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist 154961 🌀 Attachment & Trauma Therapy for Individuals & Relationships 🌳 In-Person Therapy in Pasadena 🖥️ Online Therapy for California Clients ✨ Free 15-Minute Consultation Call (link in bio)
Take a virtual walk break with me. Give yourself permission to pause for 30 seconds. Breathe in. Breathe out. Look or listen to the world around you and name what you see or hear. How did it feel to give yourself the gift of a moment just for yourself? What’s possible if you give yourself more moments like these when you remember? — 🌱 Chloé Cavelier d’Esclavelles, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist #154961 🌀 Attachment & Trauma Therapy for Individuals & Relationships 🌳 In-Person Therapy in Pasadena 🖥️ Online Therapy for California Clients ✨ Free 15-Minute Consultation Call (link in bio)
Almost walked right past this. A tiny moment of sunlight and color and stillness outside my office. So glad I let myself stop to enjoy it. Our brains are constantly scanning the world for what matters. When we practice noticing moments of beauty, calm, or safety, we gently train our nervous system to see more of them. What we pay attention to grows. 🌹 — 🌱 Chloé Cavelier d’Esclavelles, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist #154961 🌀 Attachment & Trauma Therapy for Individuals & Relationships 🌳 In-Person Therapy in Pasadena 🖥️ Online Therapy for California Clients ✨ Free 15-Minute Consultation Call (link in bio) #mentalhealth #therapy #therapist #mentalhealthmatters
Our relationship with food rarely comes from nowhere. Many clinicians who work with eating patterns through a trauma-informed lens note that bingeing and restricting often develop in response to stress, threat, shame, or unpredictability earlier in life. For people who are curious about their relationship with food, it can be useful to gently reflect on questions like: • What messages did you grow up hearing about bodies or weight? • Were certain foods labeled as “bad” or off-limits? • What happened when you ate more than expected as a child? • When bingeing or restricting shows up now, what emotion tended to come first? These aren’t meant to diagnose anything. They’re simply prompts for noticing patterns with curiosity rather than judgment. For those who want to explore these themes in more depth, an emotional eating therapy group focused on trauma-informed skill-building and developing a more mindful, compassionate relationship with food and body is currently enrolling. Details are on my website! — 🌱 Chloé Cavelier d’Esclavelles, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist #154961 🌀 Attachment & Trauma Therapy for Individuals & Relationships 🌳 In-Person Therapy in Pasadena 🖥️ Online Therapy for California Clients ✨ Free 15-Minute Consultation Call (link in bio)
For a society so obsessed with “health,” a lot of our dominant values quietly work against what healing actually requires. Hyper-individualism doesn’t leave much room for interdependence or the nervous system safety that comes from real connection. The shame baked into so much marketing chips away at our sense of enoughness, distances us from self-compassion, and makes it harder to receive care from others. Urgency and grind culture don’t respect the pace our bodies and inner worlds need to repair, integrate, and soften. And profit-driven fear in our media ecosystem keeps many of us swinging between hypervigilance and collapse, anxiety and numbness. Healing asks something different. It asks for slowness. For community. For curiosity instead of judgment. For choosing care in systems that reward depletion. In that way, healing is a radical choice. Quietly revolutionary. Deeply countercultural. And maybe the most important part is this: You don’t have to do it alone. If you’re curious about how therapy can support your healing journey, let’s set up a consultation call. — 🌱 Chloé Cavelier d’Esclavelles, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist #154961 🌀 Attachment & Trauma Therapy for Individuals & Relationships 🌳 In-Person Therapy in Pasadena 🖥️ Online Therapy for California Clients ✨ Free 15-Minute Consultation Call (link in bio) #mentalhealth #therapy #therapist #mentalhealthmatters mentalhealthrecovery endthestigma youarenotalone mentalhealthawareness traumarecovery mindfulness personalgrowth emotionalwellbeing healing healingjourney
Lately in sessions, many people are naming the same thing: a sense of dread when reading the news, images that won’t leave their minds, cycles of urgency followed by numbness, or the quiet shame of feeling frozen when so much feels at stake. If you notice yourself swinging between hyper-alert and shut down, it’s likely a nervous system doing its best to survive prolonged stress. Some common patterns I’m hearing: — paralysis or collapse — compulsive scrolling or over-functioning — emotional numbing or dissociation — a constant pressure to “do something” paired with exhaustion or uncertainty Trauma, whether personal or collective, often pushes us toward extremes. One framework I return to often is Deepa Iyer’s Social Change Ecosystem Map (Google it - so helpful!), which reminds us that sustainable engagement doesn’t come from forcing ourselves into roles that don’t fit or that feel overwhelming to our systems. It comes from understanding our part of the collective and our role in community. Some people are built for frontline action. Some are healers, storytellers, caregivers, builders, or behind-the-scenes supporters. Some need seasons of rest before they can re-engage at all. From a trauma-informed lens, the question isn’t: “Why am I not doing more?” It might be: “What is my nervous system actually capable of right now, and what role allows me to stay human?” You don’t have to metabolize everything alone. And you don’t have to respond the way anyone else is responding. Slowness, boundaries, grief, and regulation are important and often what make sustained care possible. — 🌱 Chloé Cavelier d’Esclavelles, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist #154961 🌀 Attachment & Trauma Therapy for Individuals & Relationships 🌳 In-Person Therapy in Pasadena 🖥️ Online Therapy for California Clients ✨ Free 15-Minute Consultation Call (link in bio)
Old dynamics can feel new again when you’re around family. The holidays can activate old versions of you, the ones who adapted to keep the peace, stay invisible, or take care of others’ emotions. These patterns aren’t regressions; they’re your nervous system recognizing familiar terrain. If you notice yourself shutting down, getting reactive, or feeling like a kid again, pause before judging it. You’re not “going backward”; you’re touching the places where your system first learned what safety meant. ✨ Try this: Before family gatherings, ground yourself by naming what version of you tends to show up around family. Afterward, take a few moments to check in with the present-day you: What did that younger part need that you can offer now? Check back each week on #TraumaTuesdays for gentle reflections on trauma healing – how we survive, adapt, and begin to come home to ourselves. --- 🌱 Chloé Cavelier d’Esclavelles, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist #154961 🌀 Attachment & Trauma Therapy for Individuals & Relationships 🌳 In-Person Therapy in Pasadena 🖥️ Online Therapy for California Clients ✨ Free 15-Minute Consultation Call (link in bio) #mentalhealth #therapy #therapist #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthrecovery #endthestigma #youarenotalone #mentalhealthawareness #traumarecovery #mindfulness #personalgrowth #emotionalwellbeing #healing #healingjourney
Today's Prompt: When do I feel most like myself? Whether you're new to journaling or an old pro, consider this an invitation to reflect. Join me every Friday morning for a contemplative prompt to help you slow down, reflect, and connect with your inner world. --- 🌱 Chloé Cavelier d’Esclavelles, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist #154961 🌀 Attachment & Trauma Therapy for Individuals & Relationships 🌳 In-Person Therapy in Pasadena 🖥️ Online Therapy for California Clients ✨ Free 15-Minute Consultation Call (link in bio) #mentalhealth #therapy #therapist #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthrecovery #endthestigma #youarenotalone #mentalhealthawareness #traumarecovery #mindfulness #personalgrowth #emotionalwellbeing #healing #healingjourney
Secure attachment isn’t perfect behavior. It’s flexible repair. Even securely attached people get triggered, miscommunicate, or shut down. The difference is in the repair. They trust that relationships can survive rupture. Security isn’t about never losing balance; it’s about knowing how to find your way back to connection. In therapy, we practice repair: owning impact, naming needs, and tolerating discomfort while staying engaged. Over time, your body learns that connection can be safe even when it’s messy. ✨ Curiosity cue: When a rupture happens, what helps you move toward repair rather than away? --- 🌱 Chloé Cavelier d’Esclavelles, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist #154961 🌀 Attachment & Trauma Therapy for Individuals & Relationships 🌳 In-Person Therapy in Pasadena 🖥️ Online Therapy for California Clients ✨ Free 15-Minute Consultation Call (link in bio) #mentalhealth #therapy #therapist #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthrecovery #endthestigma #youarenotalone #mentalhealthawareness #traumarecovery #mindfulness #personalgrowth #emotionalwellbeing #healing #healingjourney

Please Note: My posts are not a replacement for therapy. The information contained in my posts is general information for educational purposes only. The information on my feed is not, nor is it intended to be therapy or psychological advice. Nothing I post should be considered professional advice. I am not able to answer questions regarding your specific situation. If you are a current or former client, please remember that your comments or likes may jeopardize your confidentiality.

Connection Spaces for Therapists & Trainees

I facilitate social and reflective gatherings for therapists, as well as consultation groups for clinicians who want a thoughtful, relational space to bring cases, questions, and the parts of this work that don’t always fit neatly into supervision. I also offer individual consultation for pre-licensed therapists navigating training, identity development as a clinician, and the emotional realities of early practice. You’re not in this alone.