Therapy for people who've been holding it together for far too long.
The feeling that you're not enough shapes everything.
It doesn't have to.
I'm Maddie Miyoshi (CA LMFT 147753), a Japanese American therapist working with adults who are at a crossroads in their lives. Many come in for anxiety or depression and discover that the roots go deeper. Maybe somewhere along the way, through complex trauma, family expectations, or cultural messages about who you're supposed to be, you learned that your worth depended on how others saw you, and that keeping everyone else okay was how you stayed safe. People-pleasing, perfectionism, staying one step ahead of everyone's moods: it worked, for a while. But it can leave you anxious, depleted, and unsure who you are underneath. For some, midlife and (peri)menopause bring that pattern to the surface in ways that can't be ignored anymore.
I am also attuned to Asian American and BIPOC clients who want a therapist they don't have to translate themselves for. Using EMDR, somatic, and parts-based approaches, we work on the roots, not just the symptoms. I see clients in person in Mar Vista/Culver City and Redondo Beach, and online throughout California.
The life you actually want is on the other side of finally knowing who you are.
You feel like you are…
exhausted in a way sleep doesn't fix
holding everything together while quietly falling apart
performing fine - even exceptionally well - when you are anything but
feeling anxious or on edge in ways that seem new, or like old stuff is suddenly back
not recognizing yourself lately, in your body, your moods, or your patience
losing yourself in everyone else's needs
And wondering why you can’t just feel happy
Together we will…
get to the root of what's driving the exhaustion, not just manage it
slow down enough to tend to the parts of you that have been holding on for way too long
drop the performance and figure out who you actually are underneath all of it
understand where those patterns came from and start loosening their grip
help you find your way back to yourself - your needs, your voice, your sense of who you are
I am a psychotherapist working with clients in-person in the Mar Vista/Culver City area of West Los Angeles and Redondo Beach, as well as remotely throughout California.
I didn't start out as a therapist. Before this work, I spent years in entertainment and marketing, chasing a version of success that looked right on paper but left me feeling hollow. I kept pushing forward, telling myself I just needed to work harder, do more, be more. Sound familiar?
It took my nervous system staging an intervention. Three a.m. wake-ups, night after night, with a clarity I couldn't rationalize away: this isn't your life. I was exhausted, disconnected from myself, and quietly terrified of what it would mean to actually listen.
Making that change wasn't easy. There was grief in it, and uncertainty, and the uncomfortable work of figuring out who I was outside of what I'd been doing. But it has been worth it.
I became a therapist because I know what it feels like to be high-functioning and lost at the same time. To smile through it. To not even fully realize how far you've drifted from yourself until something breaks through: a sleepless night, a relationship fracture, a quiet moment that cracks you open.
My work centers on trauma, complex PTSD, perfectionism, and negative core beliefs. I'm especially drawn to the places where early experiences, family dynamics, cultural messages, and attachment wounds have quietly shaped how someone sees themselves and what they believe they deserve. I also work with women navigating significant life transitions: shifting identities, changing roles, (peri)menopause, and the particular kind of reckoning that often arrives in your 30s and beyond. I find it meaningful to help people untangle those old patterns and build a relationship with themselves that finally feels true.
About me…
Specializing in…
Most of what brings people to therapy doesn't arrive in neat categories. Trauma shapes how we think. Perfectionism lives in the body. Identity and grief overlap. And for many people, one thread runs through all of it: a long habit of putting everyone else first. What follows is a map of the territory we might explore together.
-
If you learned that your worth depended on getting it right and keeping everyone happy, you may find yourself saying yes when you mean no, bracing against the inner critic, and losing track of what you want. We explore where that pressure came from and who you are when you're not earning your place.
-
When something happened, or kept happening, that changed how safe the world felt. Often, keeping others happy became a way to stay safe. Using EMDR and somatic approaches, we work at a pace that honors your nervous system.
-
Often symptoms of something deeper, not character flaws. Constantly tracking others' moods and setting your own needs aside takes a toll. We work on both the symptoms and their roots.
-
As an Asian American therapist, I understand intergenerational expectations, the pull between obligation and self, and what it means to navigate identity across cultures. AAPI, BIPOC, and multiracial clients will find that experience centered here, not explained away.
-
Your roles, relationships, and body are shifting. For people who've spent decades taking care of everyone else, midlife often brings a reckoning and more questions about what you actually want. Therapy can help you step into what's next with clarity and self-trust.
-
Recurring patterns like people-pleasing, shutting down, or difficulty trusting usually have origins worth understanding. I work with individuals on relationship patterns and with couples who want to communicate better and repair ruptures.
My Approach:
I often blend:
EMDR to process old wounds and release painful beliefs like "I'm not good enough," "I'm not lovable," or "I have to earn love."
Attachment-based work to understand how early experiences shaped your relationships today.
Somatic and nervous system tools to help your body unlearn constant vigilance, pressure, and guilt.
Parts-based work to get to know the parts of you that please, perform, or criticize, with curiosity instead of shame.
Compassion-focused therapy to soften harsh self-criticism and build a kinder inner voice.
Culturally attuned exploration of the roles, messages, and expectations that shaped you and who you want to become now.
Therapy with me is collaborative and unhurried. We move at your pace, honoring both your resilience and the parts of you still longing for relief.
How it Works
01
Reach Out
You deserve to feel seen, heard, and genuinely understood by your therapist — not just tolerated. I offer a free 15 to 20 minute consultation call so we can get a sense of each other before you decide. If it doesn't feel like a fit, that's okay too. What matters is that you find the right person.
02
Get to Work
Weekly sessions are where things start to shift. Consistency is what allows us to build real trust, go deeper than surface-level, and move toward something that actually feels good — not just functional. We go at your pace, but we keep going.
03
See Change
The work begins with feeling safe to be honest — with me, and eventually with yourself. From there we'll untangle the beliefs that have kept you small, tend to the anxiety, perfectionism, or pain that brought you here, and start rebuilding a relationship with yourself that feels true.
Weekly sessions give us the continuity to go deep and keep going. You don't have to figure it all out at once. You just have to keep showing up.
Get in touch
Something brought you here.
That's worth paying attention to.
Please provide your contact info for a free, confidential consultation so we can get a sense of each other before committing. If it feels like a fit, we'll go from there. If not, I'll do my best to point you in the right direction.
Asian American LMFT · EMDR-Trained · Trauma, Perfectionism & Life Transitions · Los Angeles & California
Asian American LMFT · EMDR-Trained · Trauma, Perfectionism & Life Transitions · Los Angeles & California