You didn't cause it, but you get to change it.
If you're ready to stop inheriting what hurt you, you're in the right place.
I'd love to help you figure out what's next.
Hi, I'm Allison Riley, LPC - an Ohio therapist specializing in family trauma.
I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor seeing clients in-person in Akron, Ohio and virtually throughout the state.
I use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), EMDR, and Relational Therapy to cultivate a compassionate, empowering, and trauma-informed experience.
I won’t tell you that you’re “too self-aware”. I won’t give you worksheets (unless you want them). I won’t talk more than you.
Learn more about my approach here This is therapy for those who grew up saying "it's fine," when it wasn't. You can love someone and still need space to heal.
You're the "problem child," the "difficult one," and somehow also the one your parents "don't have to worry about." You've spent years navigating toxic family dynamics that others couldn't see, let alone understand.
Maybe you were the parentified child. The one who grew up too fast, managed everyone else's emotions, and never quite got to just be a kid. Now you're an adult still waiting for permission to have needs of your own.
You're tired of carrying patterns - perfectionism, people-pleasing, emotional caretaking - that were never yours to begin with.
Healing from family trauma doesn't mean cutting everyone off or having all the answers. It means finally getting to put down what you've been carrying.
- This is a space of deep care and affirmation, where all sexual orientations, gender identities, and expressions are welcomed without question. Your truth is honored here.
- I reject the messages of diet culture and support body liberation. Healing and wholeness are possible in every body, at every size.
- You are free to define what love, connection, and relationship mean to you. All ethical relationship structures, including non-monogamy and polyamory, are respected here.
- I am committed to anti-oppressive and anti-racist education, knowing that trauma does not exist in a vacuum. I aim to hold space that is conscious of both individual and systemic harm.
- Our work together is grounded in honesty, mutual respect, and authenticity. You are always in control of your pace, your story, and your healing.
I specialize in therapy for adult children of narcissistic or emotionally immature parents, family estrangement support, and complex family trauma. If you’ve spent years managing a parent’s emotions, questioning your own reality, or grieving a relationship that never felt safe, you’re in the right place.
Contact me to discover what healing can look like for you.
Empathy Counseling offers in-person therapy in Akron, Ohio and online therapy to adults throughout Ohio, including Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, and beyond.
• Specializing in narcissistic parent recovery, estrangement support, religious trauma, and complex PTSD •