Therapy for Black Women Who People-Please Too Much

If you’re always the one solving, fixing, or showing up, therapy helps you understand how you got here — and how to respond differently.

i'm ready for something different
Two women with curly hair smiling and lying on the grass with their heads close together
Psychology Today logo in blue text.

Vetted by:

Banner with text 'Therapy for Black Girls' on a purple background.
Zocdoc logo with a yellow smiley face and black text
Green rectangular logo with a semicircular green shape and the word 'Headway' in green text.

Trusted Experience Working With High-Achieving Black Women

  • 3,600+ hours helping Black women untangle people-pleasing and overfunctioning

  • 10+ years supporting women navigating burnout, anxiety, and relationship pressure

  • Specialized training in relational patterns, emotional reactivity, and family roles

When You’re Done Pretending It’s Fine

When Being “Okay” Is Your Default Setting

You’ve spent years taking care of everyone else’s needs before your own.

You keep the peace, manage the details, anticipate problems, and smooth over tension.


But the constant pressure is wearing on you, and you’re realizing you can’t keep running at this pace without losing yourself.

do something for yourself
What It Looks Like in Real Life

And How It Shows Up Without You Realizing It

Two women with dark curly hair standing close together indoors, wearing white tops and earrings. One woman is in a white blazer and the other in a white blouse and brown skirt, both looking serious.

Here’s what this often looks like for Black women:

  • Saying “yes” before you even check in with yourself

  • Feeling guilty for resting, slowing down, or letting something wait

  • Taking on other people’s responsibilities because you can’t stand watching things fall apart

  • Handling the emotional load in your relationships — even when no one asks how you are

  • Feeling irritated, resentful, or exhausted, but pushing through anyway

  • Showing up as the reliable one at work, at home, and in your family

  • Holding everything together but falling apart when you’re finally alone

  • Feeling anxious or “not doing enough” even when you’re doing the most

  • Feeling like your worth is tied to how much you handle or fix

  • Struggling to ask for help because it feels easier to do it yourself

These patterns don’t come out of nowhere.

They’re roles you learned to step into early, often out of necessity.

Why You Always Show Up This Way

Many Black women grow up with unspoken expectations:

  • Be strong

  • Be agreeable

  • Don’t cause problems

  • Handle it yourself


    So you learned to anticipate everyone’s needs, fix things before they break, and stay pleasant no matter what you feel.


What once helped you survive or stay connected now leaves you stretched thin, responsible for everything and centered in almost nothing.

A laptop keyboard, a closed orange notebook with white string, white headphones, all on a beige textured blanket.

What We Work On Together

  • Untangling the pressure to perform, fix, or hold everything together and understanding where that expectation came from

  • Breaking the pattern of saying “yes” when you’re exhausted without swinging to the other extreme

  • Learning how to show up without overextending yourself and without feeling guilty for choosing differently

  • Noticing the moment you start slipping into overfunctioning and practicing small shifts that actually stick

  • Redefining your worth outside of productivity, responsibility, or being the one who holds it all

  • Building boundaries that feel natural, not aggressive or performative

As You Start Doing the Work
Two women sitting on a bed, laughing and using laptops in a bright, modern room.

You Stop Taking On Everything and Everyone

You stop jumping into fixer mode automatically.

You can name what you need, take your time before saying yes, and let relationships feel more balanced instead of one-sided.

The pressure eases because you’re not carrying what isn’t yours anymore.

When You’re Ready for Something Different

You Don’t Have to Keep Running on Empty

If you want to stop reacting from old roles and start responding from who you are now, therapy can help you get there.

Reach out when you’re ready.


Let's talk
Exterior view of a European-style cafe with black window frames, striped awnings, small tables, and potted trees; red brick building with windows and green plants in window boxes.
Front door with a black frame and black handle, decorated with a light-colored wreath of dried grasses, surrounded by white shiplap walls, with black outdoor wall sconces on either side, a welcome mat on the porch, and potted plants and pumpkins nearby.

Therapy for Black Women Across New Jersey

Whether you’re in Ocean, Gloucester, Atlantic, or Hunterdon County — or anywhere in New Jersey — I offer online therapy for Black women navigating people-pleasing, burnout, and overfunctioning.

Virtual sessions make it easier to get consistent support, without adding another thing to your already full plate.