You’re everyone’s go to person.

Except your own.

Let’s change that. Specialized therapy for relationship anxiety and people pleasers.

Hi, I’m Dr. Kayla Sykes.

I'm a California licensed psychologist offering specialized therapy to help anxious women navigate relationship anxiety, people-pleasing, and the fear of vulnerability.

Most of my clients are women who look like they have it all together. They're thoughtful, caring, self-aware. But underneath, they're exhausted from overgiving in their relationship and keeping score, or they want connection but keep avoiding dating because opening up feels terrifying.

You're not broken. You're just protecting yourself. And that protection isn't serving you anymore.

I bring warmth, honesty, and humor to therapyand I won't let you people-please your way through our sessions. I'd love to hear what brings you here.

Book a Free Consultation

Woman in peaceful moment of reflection - therapy for relationship anxiety and people-pleasing

Is This You?

✓ You're exhausted from overgiving in your relationships

✓ You give more than you receive and resent it silently

✓ You need constant reassurance but never feel reassured

✓ You keep score because asking feels impossible

✓ You want connection but avoid dating

✓ You're convinced something is wrong with you

✓ Opening up feels more terrifying than staying lonely

✓ You feel like your partner's mother, not their equal

You're not broken. You're protecting yourself.

And that protection isn't serving you anymore.

Get Started.

How I Help.

If you're here, you're probably dealing with one of two patterns:

You want connection but avoid it. You swipe but don't meet up. You're convinced something is wrong with you. Vulnerability feels more terrifying than staying lonely.

You're in a relationship but feel invisible. You give and give, keep score silently, and resent your partner for not noticing. Asking for what you need feels selfish or impossible.

Calm contemplative setting representing healing from anxious attachment patterns

Schedule a Free Consultation

Either way, the root is the same.

We'll explore how your early relationships (particularly with your father) shaped your beliefs about love, worthiness, and vulnerability. You'll learn why you default to caretaking or avoidance, and develop the capacity to show up authentically in relationships without sacrificing yourself or running away.

I use an integrative approach grounded in attachment theory, relational psychodynamic work, and CBT skills. Some sessions focus on immediate relationship concerns. Others dig into the deeper patterns keeping you from feeling truly seen and loved. I follow your lead and adjust based on what's actually helping.

Contemplative image of woman stressed trying to heal from trauma and anxious attachment

Specialties.

You're exhausted from overgiving in your relationship. You keep score because asking for help feels impossible. You feel like your partner's mother, not their equal. Or maybe you're single and want connection, but keep avoiding dating even though you crave it. You're convinced something is wrong with you.
The common thread: you struggle to be vulnerable.
We'll work on the underlying patterns (anxious attachment, fear of vulnerability, difficulty asking for what you need) so you can stop overgiving, set boundaries without guilt, and build the intimacy you're craving.
You might look like you have it all together, but underneath there's constant worry. Racing thoughts at night. Overanalyzing your partner's words and relationship anxiety. Needing reassurance but never feeling reassured. Anxiety about whether you're "enough" or if they'll leave.
Therapy can help you understand what's driving the anxiety and build a different relationship with it, so it stops running the show.
Women's lives are shaped by experiences that deserve thoughtful, informed support. That might mean navigating body image, fertility struggles, pregnancy loss, the emotional weight of IVF, or the adjustment to becoming a mother when it doesn't feel the way you expected.

It could also be the ongoing pressures: balancing career and caregiving, relationship strain, burnout, and the tendency to put everyone else's needs before your own. If you can relate to the weight of the mental load that women carry, I've written more about that experience.
You got into tech because you were excited about it. But somewhere along the way, the pace, the pressure, and the always-on culture started to wear you down. Maybe you're dreading work you used to love, running on fumes between sprints, or feeling like your entire identity has collapsed into your job title. Burnout in tech isn't a sign that you're not cut out for it. It's what happens when sustained pressure meets a person who keeps pushing through. Therapy can help you figure out what needs to change and how to move forward in a way that actually feels sustainable. If you're wondering whether what you're feeling is actually burnout or just a rough patch, I've written more about what to look for.