Break Free From People-Pleasing and Learn to Trust Yourself
“We don't get wounded alone and we don't heal alone.” - Carl Jung
Exploring the patterns beneath the surface
Nicole Gabbay is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in attachment, trauma, relationship patterns, and first-generation family dynamics. Through a psychodynamic and somatic approach, therapy offers a space for deeper self-understanding, insight, and connection.
Many of the struggles we experience in the present are rooted in patterns that developed long ago—within our families, relationships, and life experiences. Together, we will explore these patterns with curiosity and compassion, creating space for greater awareness, emotional freedom, and a more authentic relationship with yourself and others.
Nicole works with individuals and couples navigating anxiety, relationship challenges, life transitions, family dynamics, trauma, and the complexities of first-generation experiences.
A Deeper Understanding of Yourself
Therapy offers an opportunity to slow down, reflect, and better understand the patterns that may be shaping your life today. Together, we will explore the experiences, relationships, and unconscious dynamics that influence how you relate to yourself and others.
Through a psychodynamic and somatic approach, our work extends beyond symptom relief. By developing greater awareness of longstanding patterns, therapy can create space for deeper self-understanding, more fulfilling relationships, and a stronger connection to yourself.
“What you seek is seeking you” -RUMI
My Approach to therapy
somatic therapy
Somatic therapy recognizes that stress, trauma, and attachment wounds are experienced not only in the mind, but also within the nervous system and body. By increasing awareness of physical sensations, emotional experiences, and nervous system responses, clients can develop a deeper understanding of themselves and feel less stuck in longstanding patterns.
Nicole's work is informed by Somatic Experiencing® (Modules I & II) and Polyvagal-Informed Trauma Therapy, integrating body-based approaches that support nervous system regulation, emotional resilience, and a greater sense of safety and connection.
Psychodynamic therapy
Psychodynamic therapy explores how past experiences, early relationships, and unconscious patterns may continue to influence your present-day thoughts, emotions, and relationships. Rather than focusing solely on symptom relief, this approach seeks to uncover the deeper roots of recurring struggles, creating space for greater self-awareness and understanding.
Together, we will explore longstanding patterns, relationship dynamics, and the ways in which your past may be shaping your present. Through this process, clients often gain a deeper understanding of themselves, their relationships, and the underlying forces that influence their lives today.
Nicole's work is informed by psychodynamic principles and her training under psychoanalyst Dr. Martha Koo, who served as her clinical supervisor.
Relationship patterns and attachment
Attachment-based therapy explores how your earliest relationships shape the way you connect with yourself and others. The messages we receive in childhood often influence how we experience intimacy, trust, boundaries, conflict, and emotional vulnerability in adulthood. When attachment wounds go unaddressed, they can show up as anxiety in relationships, fear of abandonment, difficulty trusting others, people-pleasing, emotional withdrawal, or repeating unhealthy relationship patterns.
Through a warm, collaborative, and insight-oriented approach, Nicole helps clients better understand their attachment style and the relational patterns that may be keeping them stuck. Together, you will work toward building greater self-awareness, emotional security, healthier boundaries, and more fulfilling connections with others and yourself.
About Nicole
“Healing happens at the speed of safety, not the speed of insight.”
As a first-generation Persian American, I understand the complexity of navigating multiple cultural identities, family expectations, and the lasting impact of intergenerational experiences. These personal experiences have shaped both my worldview and my approach to therapy, allowing me to support individuals who feel caught between honoring where they come from and creating a life that feels authentic to who they are.
My work specializes in attachment, relationship patterns, trauma, nervous system regulation, and first-generation family dynamics. Through a psychodynamic and somatic approach, I help clients better understand the experiences, relationships, and unconscious patterns that may be influencing their lives today. Together, we explore what lies beneath the surface, creating space for greater self-awareness, insight, and connection.
Whether you are navigating relationship challenges, family conflict, people-pleasing, life transitions, attachment wounds, or questions of identity and belonging, therapy can offer an opportunity to better understand yourself and develop a more meaningful relationship with yourself and others.