Ari grew up in a household where her mother, struggling with mental health issues and financial instability, relied heavily on her for emotional support and other help. From a young age, Ari took on adult responsibilities, managing household chores, caring for her younger siblings, and providing emotional reassurance to her mother. This role reversal left Ari with little opportunity to enjoy a typical childhood. When her peers were having parties on weekends and skipping school, Ari was worried about her mom's ability to pay the bills and trying to coax her to take her mental health medications.

As Ari transitioned into adulthood, the effects of being parentified continued to impact her. She struggled with boundaries in her personal relationships, often taking on too much responsibility and neglecting her own needs. At work, she found it difficult to assert herself and often overextended to help colleagues, leading to burnout. In her romantic relationships, Ari felt compelled to care for her partners excessively, trying to help or even to change them—mirroring the caregiving role she assumed in her childhood. She came to therapy feeling "overwhelmed and inadequate," and during our first session, immediately reported "I just feel anxious all of the time."

Parentification occurs when a child is forced into the role of caregiver for their parent, emotionally and practically. In this dynamic, the child feels responsible for taking care of the parent’s emotional needs, often becoming a source of support and reassurance. The child may also take on parental responsibilities, managing household tasks and decision-making. This can lead to a sense of guilt and undue responsibility when something goes wrong that they are unable to fix, further reinforcing the belief that they are at fault for any issues their parent faces.

Parentification can happen for a few different reasons, but often it is due to an absence of a healthy........

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