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The Marriage Under Multidirectional Strain — When Caring in Both Directions Erodes the Partnership
The Marriage Under Multidirectional Strain. When Caring in Both Directions Erodes the Partnership. Annie Wright trauma therapy
SUMMARY

This exploration reveals how marriages in the sandwich generation face unique, multilayered pressures when the demands of caregiving flow in both directions, supporting aging parents while raising children. It names the emotional and relational strain that can erode partnerships, highlighting specific patterns that emerge and offering clinically informed practices that help couples repair and reconnect.

Last reviewed: June 2026 by Annie Wright, LMFT

Mark’s Wedding Ring Was on the Coffee Table

It was Thursday, 6:32pm, and Dani sat in her therapist’s office in Brooklyn, her gaze flickering between the soft light filtering through the window and the slight angle between the two armchairs they occupied. The chairs faced each other, but with a gentle offset, an unspoken invitation to conversation that was intimate yet safe. Ten minutes earlier, Mark had washed his hands after their long day and, without a word, slipped off his wedding ring, placing it carefully on the coffee table between them. Neither mentioned it.

The therapist’s question floated into the quiet: “What’s been hardest in the last six months?” Mark’s voice was flat, almost rehearsed: “Nothing major.” Dani’s voice cracked as she replied, “My mother is dying.” The words hung in the air like a fragile shard of glass, sharp and unyielding.

They were in the same room, yet Dani felt the weight of years and unspoken distance stretching between them. “We are in the same room. We are in different decades,” she thought. “He is in the marriage we had in 2019. I am in the one we have now.”

That silent chasm was carved by the relentless pull of caregiving pressures flowing in both directions, her teenage stepson needing guidance and emotional presence, her mother’s slow decline requiring increasing attention and compassion. It felt as if these demands were not just tugging at their time and energy but were eroding the very foundation of their partnership.

The scene captures a moment that many sandwich-generation couples recognize: the quiet, aching distance that grows when caregiving becomes a shared yet uneven burden, when love feels present yet elusive, and when the marriage that once thrived now feels fragile and frayed.

What “Multidirectional Strain” Does to a Marriage That Worked Before

Marriages are resilient in many ways. They endure relocations to new cities, career upheavals, the arrival of children, and even the loss of loved ones. Yet the multidirectional strain experienced by the sandwich generation introduces a unique, complex challenge that can strain the emotional, mental, and physical resources a couple once relied upon to foster connection.

Unlike a single stressor, multidirectional strain arises from simultaneous caregiving demands flowing in both directions, caring upward for aging parents and downward for children or teenagers. These intersecting responsibilities create a sustained pressure of conflicting needs, time scarcity, and emotional exhaustion.

For Dani and Mark, their marriage had once been a shared project, marked by laughter, mutual support, and joint celebrations, weddings, graduations, vacations that stitched their blended family closer together. But the slow, unrelenting demands of caregiving have shifted their partnership into unfamiliar territory. The marriage, once a source of refuge and joy, has become a space where expectations collide and emotional reserves dwindle.

Bessel van der Kolk, MD, in his seminal work The Body Keeps the Score, highlights how chronic stress from caregiving can embed itself not only in the body but also in relational patterns, altering how partners attune to one another. The caregiving partner often carries invisible labor, organizing appointments, managing crises, and holding grief, while the non-caregiving spouse may struggle to understand or witness this burden fully.

The result is a shifting dynamic where the marriage risks becoming a site of silent battles, unmet needs, and emotional withdrawal, rather than a source of mutual support and intimacy. The multidirectional strain fractures the shared narrative that once held the couple together, leaving them adrift in parallel but disconnected worlds.

In SG-S6, the section called Mark’s Wedding Ring Was on the Coffee Table needs to be read as more than advice about time management. For a reader searching for marriage-strain-sandwich-generation-caregiving, the pressure has already moved from the calendar into the body: she may be answering a parent’s call while rehearsing a work conversation, watching a teenager’s face for signs of disappointment, and scanning her own body for the moment she can safely stop performing competence. Pauline Boss, PhD gives language for ambiguous loss, but the clinical meaning becomes most visible in these ordinary moments, when the woman’s private life asks for tenderness at the same time her public life asks for precision.

The practical implication for The Marriage Under Multidirectional Strain. When Caring in Both Directions Erodes the Partnership is that the solution cannot be reduced to a better list. For SG-S6, a list can still be useful, but the more important repair begins when the reader of The Marriage Under Multidirectional Strain. When Caring in Both Directions Erodes the Partnership can separate present-day caregiving duties from inherited family training, identify which responsibilities require her adult consent, and notice where love has been confused with disappearance. In therapy or coaching, this distinction often becomes the first place the nervous system receives new information: she can remain devoted without consenting to be erased, and she can be responsible without becoming the only adult allowed to have no limits.

In SG-S6, the section called What “Multidirectional Strain” Does to a Marriage That Worked Before needs to be read as more than advice about time management. For a reader searching for marriage-strain-sandwich-generation-caregiving, the pressure has already moved from the calendar into the family system: she may be answering a parent’s call while rehearsing a work conversation, watching a teenager’s face for signs of disappointment, and scanning her own body for the moment she can safely stop performing competence. Bruce McEwen, PhD gives language for allostatic load, but the clinical meaning becomes most visible in these ordinary moments, when the woman’s private life asks for tenderness at the same time her public life asks for precision.

The practical implication for The Marriage Under Multidirectional Strain. When Caring in Both Directions Erodes the Partnership is that the solution cannot be reduced to a better list. For SG-S6, a list can still be useful, but the more important repair begins when the reader of The Marriage Under Multidirectional Strain. When Caring in Both Directions Erodes the Partnership can separate present-day caregiving duties from inherited family training, identify which responsibilities require her adult consent, and notice where love has been confused with disappearance. In therapy or coaching, this distinction often becomes the first place the nervous system receives new information: she can remain devoted without consenting to be erased, and she can be responsible without becoming the only adult allowed to have no limits.

In SG-S6, the section called The Three Strain Patterns. Witness Asymmetry, Caregiver Asymmetry, and the Grief Out-of-Sync needs to be read as more than advice about time management. For a reader searching for marriage-strain-sandwich-generation-caregiving, the pressure has already moved from the calendar into the work identity: she may be answering a parent’s call while rehearsing a work conversation, watching a teenager’s face for signs of disappointment, and scanning her own body for the moment she can safely stop performing competence. Steven Zarit, PhD gives language for caregiver burden, but the clinical meaning becomes most visible in these ordinary moments, when the woman’s private life asks for tenderness at the same time her public life asks for precision.

The practical implication for The Marriage Under Multidirectional Strain. When Caring in Both Directions Erodes the Partnership is that the solution cannot be reduced to a better list. For SG-S6, a list can still be useful, but the more important repair begins when the reader of The Marriage Under Multidirectional Strain. When Caring in Both Directions Erodes the Partnership can separate present-day caregiving duties from inherited family training, identify which responsibilities require her adult consent, and notice where love has been confused with disappearance. In therapy or coaching, this distinction often becomes the first place the nervous system receives new information: she can remain devoted without consenting to be erased, and she can be responsible without becoming the only adult allowed to have no limits.

In SG-S6, the section called Why the Spouse Who Is Not in Active Caregiving Often Disappears Emotionally needs to be read as more than advice about time management. For a reader searching for marriage-strain-sandwich-generation-caregiving, the pressure has already moved from the calendar into the boundary: she may be answering a parent’s call while rehearsing a work conversation, watching a teenager’s face for signs of disappointment, and scanning her own body for the moment she can safely stop performing competence. Judith Herman, MD gives language for traumatic stress and recovery, but the clinical meaning becomes most visible in these ordinary moments, when the woman’s private life asks for tenderness at the same time her public life asks for precision.

The practical implication for The Marriage Under Multidirectional Strain. When Caring in Both Directions Erodes the Partnership is that the solution cannot be reduced to a better list. For SG-S6, a list can still be useful, but the more important repair begins when the reader of The Marriage Under Multidirectional Strain. When Caring in Both Directions Erodes the Partnership can separate present-day caregiving duties from inherited family training, identify which responsibilities require her adult consent, and notice where love has been confused with disappearance. In therapy or coaching, this distinction often becomes the first place the nervous system receives new information: she can remain devoted without consenting to be erased, and she can be responsible without becoming the only adult allowed to have no limits.

In SG-S6, the section called The Specific Hazard of “He Is Being Supportive” When Supportive Reads as Distant needs to be read as more than advice about time management. For a reader searching for marriage-strain-sandwich-generation-caregiving, the pressure has already moved from the calendar into the grief: she may be answering a parent’s call while rehearsing a work conversation, watching a teenager’s face for signs of disappointment, and scanning her own body for the moment she can safely stop performing competence. Bessel van der Kolk, MD gives language for the body holding unresolved threat, but the clinical meaning becomes most visible in these ordinary moments, when the woman’s private life asks for tenderness at the same time her public life asks for precision.

The practical implication for The Marriage Under Multidirectional Strain. When Caring in Both Directions Erodes the Partnership is that the solution cannot be reduced to a better list. For SG-S6, a list can still be useful, but the more important repair begins when the reader of The Marriage Under Multidirectional Strain. When Caring in Both Directions Erodes the Partnership can separate present-day caregiving duties from inherited family training, identify which responsibilities require her adult consent, and notice where love has been confused with disappearance. In therapy or coaching, this distinction often becomes the first place the nervous system receives new information: she can remain devoted without consenting to be erased, and she can be responsible without becoming the only adult allowed to have no limits.

In SG-S6, the section called Both/And: He Loves You AND He Is Not in This With You needs to be read as more than advice about time management. For a reader searching for marriage-strain-sandwich-generation-caregiving, the pressure has already moved from the calendar into the repair: she may be answering a parent’s call while rehearsing a work conversation, watching a teenager’s face for signs of disappointment, and scanning her own body for the moment she can safely stop performing competence. Tara Brach, PhD gives language for the pause between stimulus and response, but the clinical meaning becomes most visible in these ordinary moments, when the woman’s private life asks for tenderness at the same time her public life asks for precision.

The practical implication for The Marriage Under Multidirectional Strain. When Caring in Both Directions Erodes the Partnership is that the solution cannot be reduced to a better list. For SG-S6, a list can still be useful, but the more important repair begins when the reader of The Marriage Under Multidirectional Strain. When Caring in Both Directions Erodes the Partnership can separate present-day caregiving duties from inherited family training, identify which responsibilities require her adult consent, and notice where love has been confused with disappearance. In therapy or coaching, this distinction often becomes the first place the nervous system receives new information: she can remain devoted without consenting to be erased, and she can be responsible without becoming the only adult allowed to have no limits.

In SG-S6, the section called The Repair Practices That Actually Work for Sandwich-Generation Marriages needs to be read as more than advice about time management. For a reader searching for marriage-strain-sandwich-generation-caregiving, the pressure has already moved from the calendar into the practice: she may be answering a parent’s call while rehearsing a work conversation, watching a teenager’s face for signs of disappointment, and scanning her own body for the moment she can safely stop performing competence. Pauline Boss, PhD gives language for ambiguous loss, but the clinical meaning becomes most visible in these ordinary moments, when the woman’s private life asks for tenderness at the same time her public life asks for precision.

The practical implication for The Marriage Under Multidirectional Strain. When Caring in Both Directions Erodes the Partnership is that the solution cannot be reduced to a better list. For SG-S6, a list can still be useful, but the more important repair begins when the reader of The Marriage Under Multidirectional Strain. When Caring in Both Directions Erodes the Partnership can separate present-day caregiving duties from inherited family training, identify which responsibilities require her adult consent, and notice where love has been confused with disappearance. In therapy or coaching, this distinction often becomes the first place the nervous system receives new information: she can remain devoted without consenting to be erased, and she can be responsible without becoming the only adult allowed to have no limits.

The Three Strain Patterns. Witness Asymmetry, Caregiver Asymmetry, and the Grief Out-of-Sync

Through clinical experience with couples navigating sandwich-generation pressures, three distinct but interrelated strain patterns often emerge. Understanding these patterns can illuminate the undercurrents that erode connection and provide a map toward healing.

DEFINITION WITNESS ASYMMETRY

Witness asymmetry occurs when one partner is deeply immersed in caregiving and the emotional processing of a family member’s decline, while the other remains on the periphery, either unaware, overwhelmed, or unable to fully acknowledge the caregiving partner’s experience. (Annie Wright, relational trauma specialist)

In plain terms: One of you is living with the heavy feelings and daily realities of caregiving, while the other feels removed or helpless, creating a painful emotional distance.

Witness asymmetry often leaves the caregiving partner feeling unseen, invalidated, or misunderstood, while the non-caregiving spouse may feel criticized or shut out. This dynamic can deepen isolation, as the caregiver’s suffering becomes invisible and the partner’s silence becomes a wound.

DEFINITION CAREGIVER ASYMMETRY

Caregiver asymmetry refers to the uneven distribution of caregiving responsibilities within a partnership, where one partner bears the majority of caregiving tasks, leading to exhaustion, resentment, and role overload. (Annie Wright, LMFT)

In plain terms: When one partner is doing most of the caregiving work, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and alone, while the other partner might not realize how heavy that burden is.

This pattern often intersects with societal and gendered expectations around caregiving roles, compounding stress and impacting the caregiver’s mental health and work-life balance. It can create tension around fairness, recognition, and unmet emotional needs.

DEFINITION GRIEF OUT-OF-SYNC

Grief out-of-sync describes when partners experience and process the loss of a loved one on different timelines and emotional trajectories, leading to misunderstandings and emotional disconnect. (Margaret Stroebe, PhD, grief researcher)

In plain terms: One of you might be mourning intensely right now, while the other is either ready to move forward or stuck in denial, creating a gap that’s hard to bridge.

Grief out-of-sync can create profound relational challenges, as the partner who grieves intensely may feel abandoned, while the other may retreat to protect themselves from overwhelming emotions. Pauline Boss’s theory of ambiguous loss further explains how unclear or ongoing losses, like a parent’s cognitive decline, complicate grief and mourning processes within couples.

“The wounded child inside many females is a girl who was taught from early childhood on that she must become something other than herself, deny her true feelings, in order to attract and please others.”

bell hooks, cultural critic and author, All About Love: New Visions

Why the Spouse Who Is Not in Active Caregiving Often Disappears Emotionally

Mark’s dismissive “nothing major” is emblematic of a common pattern where the non-caregiving spouse withdraws emotionally from the caregiving reality that their partner inhabits daily. This withdrawal often serves as a protective response to the overwhelming and unfamiliar emotional terrain of caregiving.

Far from indicating indifference, emotional disappearance frequently signals helplessness, fear, or shame. The spouse may feel sidelined, unsure how to offer meaningful support, or afraid of escalating conflict by voicing their own needs. These feelings can prompt retreat into silence or distraction, which the caregiving partner experiences as abandonment.

Murray Bowen’s family systems theory offers insight through the concept of differentiation of self. When the non-caregiving spouse struggles to maintain emotional boundaries, they may fuse with the caregiving partner’s anxiety or, conversely, retreat into emotional avoidance. Both responses widen the divide.

Attachment theory also sheds light on this dynamic. An avoidantly attached spouse may instinctively pull away from emotional intensity, while the caregiving partner’s attachment needs become more urgent and pressing. This mismatch can create a painful dance of pursuit and withdrawal, leaving both partners feeling misunderstood and distant.

Tara Brach, PhD, emphasizes the importance of mindful presence in relationships, noting that emotional withdrawal often reflects inner turmoil and unprocessed fears rather than lack of care. Recognizing this can foster compassion toward the spouse who disappears emotionally, opening pathways for reconnection.

The Specific Hazard of “He Is Being Supportive” When Supportive Reads as Distant

Mark’s behavior, removing his wedding ring and downplaying the crisis with “nothing major”,might be interpreted by some as a form of support. He remains physically present, listens quietly, and does not challenge Dani’s feelings. Yet Dani experiences his support as distant, an emotional unavailability that compounds her sense of loss and isolation.

This dynamic is a clinical hazard because it can reinforce the caregiving partner’s feelings of invisibility and abandonment. The spouse may believe they are “doing their part,” but without attuned emotional engagement, their efforts can feel performative or insufficient. The caregiving partner yearns for acknowledgment that transcends presence, seeking emotional resonance rather than mere acquiescence.

DEFINITION PURSUER-DISTANCER PATTERN

Originating from Sue Johnson, EdD, this pattern describes a relational dance where one partner pursues connection and the other distances themselves to manage emotional overwhelm, often leading to escalating conflict and disconnection.

In plain terms: One partner wants closer connection and may seem insistent, while the other pulls away to protect themselves, creating a push-pull that leaves both feeling stuck.

Within sandwich-generation marriages, the caregiving spouse often assumes the role of pursuer, seeking validation, emotional support, and acknowledgment of their burden, while the non-caregiving spouse becomes the distancer, overwhelmed by the caregiving reality and retreating emotionally. This pattern can spiral, deepening the chasm between partners.

Recognizing the pursuer-distancer dynamic is a crucial step toward breaking it. It invites couples to see beyond blame and to understand the protective motivations underlying their behaviors. Sue Johnson’s Emotionally Focused Therapy offers tools to help couples shift from reactive cycles toward secure emotional bonds.

Both/And: He Loves You AND He Is Not in This With You

Dani’s internal reflection,“He is in the marriage we had in 2019. I am in the one we have now”,captures a paradox that many couples face in the sandwich generation. It is possible, and often true, that a spouse loves deeply yet is not fully present in the caregiving reality inhabited by their partner.

This both/and perspective honors the complexity of human relationships and avoids reductive blame. It acknowledges that love does not always translate into shared experience or emotional attunement. Love can coexist with distance, care with misunderstanding, and presence with absence.

Holding this paradox requires compassion, patience, and the willingness to sit with discomfort from both partners. It opens space for the caregiving partner to express loneliness and grief without vilifying the spouse, and for the non-caregiving partner to share fears and confusion without withdrawing further.

DEFINITION GRIEF OUT-OF-SYNC

Grief out-of-sync occurs when partners process loss at different rates or in different ways, which can create misunderstanding and emotional distance. (Margaret Stroebe, PhD)

In plain terms: You might want to talk constantly about your mother’s decline, while he might prefer to avoid it, causing a painful disconnect.

Camille, a client with a blended family, described a similar tension: her husband loved her but found her mother’s illness unbearably heavy, leading to emotional disconnection even as they tried to maintain normalcy for their children. This tension, emblematic of multidirectional strain, requires couples to learn new ways of relating that hold both love and difficulty simultaneously.

The Repair Practices That Actually Work for Sandwich-Generation Marriages

Repairing a marriage strained by multidirectional caregiving demands intentional, nuanced practices that go beyond surface-level communication. It involves cultivating safe emotional spaces where both partners can share their realities without judgment or defensiveness.

One foundational practice is developing what Murray Bowen called differentiation of self,the capacity to maintain one’s own emotional clarity and boundaries while staying connected to the partner. This ability enables partners to navigate intense caregiving emotions without becoming overwhelmed or reactive, fostering resilience within the stages of romantic love.

DEFINITION DIFFERENTIATION OF SELF

Murray Bowen, MD, describes differentiation of self as the capacity to separate one’s own intellectual and emotional functioning from that of others in close relationships, enabling healthier connection and autonomy.

In plain terms: You can care deeply about your partner’s feelings while also staying grounded in your own needs and not getting swept up in their emotional storms.

Additional repair practices that have shown clinical effectiveness include:

  • Recognizing and naming asymmetries: Bringing witness and caregiver asymmetry into conscious awareness helps partners understand the dynamics rather than assign blame. Naming these patterns in therapy creates a shared language for the invisible struggles.
  • Validating different grief timelines: Acknowledging grief out-of-sync diffuses tension stemming from mismatched emotional processing and opens space for compassion.
  • Intentional time for connection: Even brief moments of attuned presence, shared meals, walks, or quiet conversations, can rebuild trust and intimacy amidst chaos.
  • Reframing “support”: Encouraging partners to ask what support truly feels like to the other, beyond well-intentioned but distant gestures, fosters deeper emotional attunement.

Tara Brach’s teachings on radical acceptance and mindfulness can also guide couples toward greater emotional presence, helping them sit with difficult feelings without judgment or avoidance. These tools empower couples to move from reactive cycles into compassionate engagement.

“I felt a Cleaving in my Mind. / As if my Brain had split. / I tried to match it. Seam by Seam. / But could not make them fit.”

Emily Dickinson, “I felt a Cleaving in my Mind”

Couples therapy provides a structured environment to practice these repair strategies, guided by trauma-informed frameworks that respect the complexity of caregiving roles and relational histories. For those seeking support, exploring therapy options tailored to sandwich-generation women can be a vital step (therapy with Annie).

The Couples Who Made It Through. What Both Partners Did Differently

Couples who successfully navigate multidirectional strain do not “fix” the caregiving pressures themselves; rather, they transform how they relate to one another amid those pressures. They cultivate radical empathy for the other’s experience, even when it feels distant or confusing.

Dani and Mark’s healing process began with an honest acknowledgment that their marriage had changed irrevocably. They grieved the loss of the relationship they once knew and consciously created new ways to connect. Mark committed to attending therapy sessions more consistently, learning to sit with Dani’s pain without retreating. Dani practiced articulating her needs clearly while also allowing space for Mark’s vulnerabilities and fears.

Both partners embraced caregiving as a shared challenge rather than a battleground for blame. They sought external support, couples therapy, caregiver support groups, and community resources, to break isolation and normalize the emotional complexity they faced.

These couples lean courageously into the unknown together, holding both love and difficulty in the same space. They do not erase the gaps but learn to bridge them with patience, care, and mutual respect, creating a partnership capable of enduring the multidirectional strain.

As Judith Herman, MD, writes in Trauma and Recovery, healing occurs within relationships that offer safety, recognition, and the capacity to bear witness. For sandwich-generation couples, this relational healing is both a balm and a beacon.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Is my marriage in trouble or is this just what sandwich-generation marriages look like?

A: Many marriages in the sandwich generation face intense emotional and practical pressures that can create distance and misunderstanding. What you’re experiencing may be part of a common pattern rather than an indication of irreversible trouble. However, it is crucial to pay attention to how these strains impact connection and to seek support if communication and emotional closeness have significantly eroded.

Q: Why does my husband disappear emotionally when I need him most?

A: Emotional disappearance is often a protective mechanism. Your husband may feel overwhelmed, helpless, or unsure how to engage with your caregiving reality. This withdrawal isn’t about lack of love but about his own struggle to manage difficult emotions or fears around caregiving roles.

Q: What’s “witness asymmetry” and how do I name it without escalating?

A: Witness asymmetry refers to when one partner is deeply involved in caregiving while the other remains emotionally distant. Naming it gently in therapy or conversations can help without blame, for example, “I sometimes feel like I’m carrying this alone, and I want us both to see what this is like.” This invites shared understanding rather than conflict.

Q: Should I push him to come to couples therapy?

A: Encouraging participation is important, but pushing can backfire. Inviting your partner with curiosity about their feelings, emphasizing that therapy is a space for both of you to feel supported, tends to be more effective. Sharing articles or resources about sandwich-generation strain may also open doors.

Q: Is the marriage going to survive this?

A: Many marriages endure multidirectional caregiving strain, especially when couples seek support and develop new ways of relating. Survival depends on willingness to adapt, grow emotional awareness, and hold complex feelings together. Healing is possible with intentional work.

Q: Why does his “support” feel like distance?

A: Support that feels distant usually lacks emotional attunement or fails to meet the caregiving partner’s specific needs. It may be well-intentioned but experienced as minimal or absent because it doesn’t address the deeper vulnerability and exhaustion present.

Q: Can I save the marriage while also caring for my mother?

A: Yes. Caring for a parent and sustaining a marriage are not mutually exclusive, though it requires boundaries, seeking help, and prioritizing emotional connection with your partner. Couples therapy and caregiver support can provide essential guidance in balancing these demands.

References

Peer-Reviewed Research (Vancouver)

  1. Cloitre M, Stolbach BC, Herman JL, van der Kolk B, Pynoos R, Wang J, et al. A developmental approach to complex PTSD: childhood and adult cumulative trauma as predictors of symptom complexity. J Trauma Stress. 2009;22(5):399-408. doi:10.1002/jts.20444. PMID: 19795402.
  2. Greenman PS, Johnson SM. Emotionally focused therapy: Attachment, connection, and health. Curr Opin Psychol. 2022;43:146-150. doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.06.015. PMID: 34375935.
  3. van der Kolk BA, Wang JB, Yehuda R, Bedrosian L, Coker AR, Harrison C, et al. Effects of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD on self-experience. PLoS One. 2024;19(1):e0295926. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0295926. PMID: 38198456.

Books & Cultural Sources (Chicago Author-Date)

  • Brach, Tara. Radical acceptance. Bantam Books, 2003.
  • Dickinson, Emily. The complete poems of Emily Dickinson. Little, Brown, 1960.

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About the Author

Annie Wright, LMFT

LMFT · Relational Trauma Specialist · W.W. Norton Author

Helping ambitious women finally feel as good as their résumé looks.

Annie Wright is a licensed psychotherapist (LMFT #95719) and trauma-informed executive coach with over 15,000 clinical hours. She works with driven, ambitious women. Including Silicon Valley leaders, physicians, and entrepreneurs. In repairing the psychological foundations beneath their impressive lives. Annie is the founder and former CEO of Evergreen Counseling, a multimillion-dollar trauma-informed therapy center she built, scaled, and successfully exited. A regular contributor to Psychology Today, her expert commentary has appeared in Forbes, Business Insider, Inc., NBC, and The Information. She is currently writing her first book with W.W. Norton.

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