Trauma Therapy for Women in Baton Rouge, LA

Trauma Therapy for Women in Baton Rouge, LA

You Feel Alone Even Though Someone Is Right Beside You

There you are getting ready for bed and already feeling that familiar loneliness even though your partner will soon be lying right beside you. You share the same room and the same bed, yet the space between you feels wide and quiet. You want a deeper connection, something more open, something that feels steady and like real partnership rather than coexistence. Instead, the two of you keep talking in circles about the same conflicts. And these talks have mostly become arguments about you being too sensitive, or controlling, or difficult to please. The funny thing is you spend so much of your energy trying to make things easier for other people, yet you rarely feel that energy coming back to you. You are tired of trying so hard and still feeling unseen.

The Same Patterns Follow You Into Other Spaces

It’s not just at home. You see it at work too, in these small moments that add up over time. A coworker emails you with a task request even though she is not your manager, and you handle it because it is simple enough. Yet, your asks for support go unanswered. You want to address it, but you worry about being seen as the argumentative, angry Black woman. So you hold it in again. You stay quiet again. You pretend it does not bother you, again. But it does.

It leaves you wondering how long you have been carrying this feeling of being misunderstood. How long you have felt like you needed to prove that you are not the problem. How many times you have taken the blame or let your feelings slide to keep the peace. You want to be seen — as something other than the problem. You wonder who you are under all the layers of expectations, opinions, and assumptions that have tried to shape your identity.

People-Pleasing Weighs You Down

Many people come to therapy at this exact point, when they are tired of feeling like the one who holds everything together. They are exhausted from reading the room, from trying to fit in, from anticipating everyone else’s needs while their own needs sit at the bottom of the list. The stress, sadness, and anxiety that come with people-pleasing start to feel too heavy to ignore. Patterns of self sabotage creep in even when you know you want something different. Relationships can feel one sided or just plain empty. There is this sense of wanting more but not knowing how to get it without being labeled as too much.

This is where therapy can help. If you are looking for a therapist in Baton Rouge who understands how draining it can be to feel unseen or mislabeled, especially as a woman of color, you are not alone. You deserve a place where you do not have to explain or defend every emotion. You deserve a space where your full experience is welcome.

I’m Shameka, an independently licensed clinical social worker in Louisiana, Texas, and Washington.

This is the work I care deeply about. When I sit with clients who feel worn down by people-pleasing, self-doubt, or relationships that never seem to give back what they put in, something in me recognizes the weight they are carrying. My clients often tell me that I get them even when they struggle to find the words, and they feel understood without having to brace for judgment or worry about saying the wrong thing.

I work from a client-centered and strengths-based approach, with a belief that every person has worth and deep potential. I bring warmth, humor, curiosity, and a genuine respect for the courage it takes to show up honestly. Again and again I have seen clients rediscover that they already knew what they needed but had been taught to place too much weight on other people’s opinions. I do this work because every person matters equally, yet so many women, especially women of color, have been shaped by families, communities, and the broader culture to shrink themselves in ways that create lasting relational pain. In this climate, helping folks reconnect with their voices and with their Self feels meaningful and necessary.

What We Can Do Together

In our work together, you can slow down enough to hear your Self again. You can explore what happens inside you when you silence your truth to avoid being labeled. You can look at the pressure to keep the peace and at how much emotional energy goes into protecting other people’s comfort, shrinking so they do not feel threatened. You can understand where these patterns started, how they once protected you, and how they might now be holding you back.

Therapy gives you room to practice naming your needs, setting boundaries, and honoring your feelings without apologizing for them. Your emotions are meaningful signals, and you can learn to recognize them as guidance along your way.

Over time, you begin to notice subtle shifts. You stop blaming yourself for things that are not yours to carry. You recognize the difference between someone expressing a preference and someone trying to control the narrative. You stop internalizing the stories people project onto you. You become clearer about what you want and what you will no longer tolerate. Your relationships become more reciprocal, or you gain clarity about which relationships cannot offer you that. You start returning to the center of your Self.

When You’re Ready to Start the Work

If you are tired of feeling misunderstood and dismissed, therapy can be a space to reconnect with your voice and your needs. You do not have to keep existing like this alone. When you are ready, I am here to walk with you as you rediscover who you are from the inside out.

My specialties include people-pleasing and boundary work, relationship stress, emotional disconnection, and breakup recovery. You can schedule a free 20-minute consultation to see if working together feels right for us.