“The quality of strength lined with tenderness is an unbeatable combination...”
—Maya Angelou
Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs) experience the world deeply—a strength that can feel overwhelming in the wrong environment. It’s not a disorder, just a natural, neurodivergent way of being, present from birth in about 1 in 5 people.
HSPs experiences the world in their own unique way. But research shows that beneath these individual differences, all HSPs share four key traits, captured by the acronym D.O.E.S.
D – Depth of Processing: You notice more. You think deeper. HSPs reflect carefully before making decisions or responding, giving weight to every detail.
O – Overstimulation: The world can feel intense. Busy streets, loud offices, or fast-paced schedules can easily overwhelm because your nervous system registers more.
E – Emotional Responsiveness & Empathy: You feel it all—joy, sadness, tension. HSPs are deeply affected by people and environments, and their heightened empathy allows for rich, meaningful connections.
S – Sensing Subtleties: You pick up on what others miss—from tiny changes in surroundings to non-verbal cues. Strong smells, bright lights, or textures can also hit harder, making life vivid but sometimes overwhelming.
Are You Highly Sensitive? Click here to take the online quiz.
If you’ve ever felt misunderstood in a world quick to label and separate, you’ve found the right therapy home with me.
I’m a Highly Sensitive Person. I offer attuned, nuanced support for navigating sensitivity alongside complex identities.
Therapy can be a powerful ally for HSPs, helping you turn sensitivity into a source of clarity, connection, and inner strength. You can learn to recognize early signs of overwhelm, navigate overstimulating environments, and strengthen emotional boundaries—nurturing self-acceptance, resilience, and ease in daily life.
For HSPs with layered identities—whether racial, ethnic, cultural, or spiritual—sensitivity can be even more nuanced. You may feel both hyper-visible and unseen, or have learned to suppress your sensitivity in environments where it was misunderstood or pathologized. Therapy can support you in:
Navigating cultural and familial expectations that conflict with your sensitivity
Healing from pressure to "toughen up" or hide emotional depth
Exploring how systemic oppression, cultural erasure, or intergenerational trauma shape your nervous system
Reclaiming sensitivity as ancestral wisdom rather than weakness
Creating safety to show up fully—emotionally, culturally, and spiritually—in your relationships and life