EMOTIONAL REGULATION THERAPY IN MIAMI
Emotional Regulation Therapy in Miami for When Feelings Hit Too Hard, Too Fast
Miami's emotion regulation specialists for teens, young adults, women, and the parents who love them.
Some people feel things at a normal volume. You (or your daughter/son) feel more and feel faster. One comment lands like a punch. A small change in plans turns into a meltdown. And once the wave hits, it is hard to come back to baseline.
That is exactly what we treat. Some therapists are ADHD specialists; others focus on trauma or DBT. At Lumina Counseling, we are the emotion regulation specialists. One teen put it best when she told our founder, Dr. Maribel Gonzalez, "So you're the emotion regulation person." We have been happy to wear that title ever since.
Does Any Of This Sound Familiar?
If you are nodding along to more than a couple of these, you are in the right place.
Is this you?
Overwhelm is part of almost every day, even when nothing big is happening
Your anxiety comes out as irritability, and you snap at people you love
You take things personally and replay conversations for hours
A hint of rejection (a short text, a friend who seems distant) sends you spiraling
Anger and moodiness show up out of nowhere, and you overreact before you can stop yourself
Your reactions feel bigger than the situation, and you know it, but you cannot stop them in the moment
When it gets to be too much, you shut down, cancel plans, and isolate
You are exhausted from feeling "too much" and then feeling bad about it
Is this what home feels like right now?
You feel like you are walking on eggshells in your own home, never sure what you are going to get
You do not want to "poke the bear," because you know a big reaction is coming
Conflict with you flares up fast, and one reaction can take over the whole house
Simple requests (homework, screens, getting in the car) turn into explosions
Your child goes from fine to furious, or fine to tears, in seconds
They slam the door and disappear into her room for the rest of the night
You cannot talk to your child anymore without it becoming a fight
You have tried therapists before, and nothing really changed
None of this means something is wrong with you, your child, or your parenting. It means the emotional system is running hot, and nobody has taught the skills to cool it down.
Emotional Dysregulation Is Not a Diagnosis. It Is a Pattern You Can Change
Emotional dysregulation means your emotions come on faster, feel stronger, and take longer to settle than the situation calls for. It is not a diagnosis on its own. It simply means you have a harder time regulating intense emotions. It is a pattern that can show up with ADHD, anxiety, depression, trauma, and other challenges, and it responds well to skills-based therapy.
We say this early because many families come to us worried about a label. You will not find "emotional dysregulation" as its own diagnosis. What you will find is a very real, very exhausting experience that looks like this:
Emotions showing up before you have time to think
Emotions feeling bigger than what triggered them
Struggles regulating athemgetting back to baseline once you are triggered
Some people are naturally more sensitive. Others become more sensitive because of something that happened in their environment. Most of the time it is a mix of both. Either way, a sensitive nervous system is not a character flaw; it is a combination of how you are wired and what you have learned from your past experiences.
The ADHD Link Most Doctors Never Mentioned
When most people picture ADHD, they picture a boy who cannot sit still in class. That picture leaves a lot of girls and women out.
About 90% of the people we see are girls and women, and most of them have ADHD. Just not the type people expect. It is not the behavior problem at school or the trouble focusing. It looks like this:
Feeling emotions instantly and intensely
Getting flooded and not being able to think straight
Rejection that hurts far more than it "should"
Frustration that turns into tears or anger in seconds
Anxiety that sits on top of all of it
Some clients arrive already diagnosed. Others hear us ask, "Wait, do you have ADHD?" and answer, "I think so."
Researchers have been paying attention. A widely cited review in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that emotion dysregulation shows up in roughly 25 to 45 percent of children with ADHD and 30 to 70 percent of adults with ADHD (Shaw et al., 2014). CHADD, the national ADHD organization, also describes emotions that feel "too much" as a common part of ADHD.
This is why so many girls get missed. Their grades may be fine. Their teachers may love them. But at home, and inside their own heads, the emotional side of ADHD is running the show. By the time they reach us, many have been told they are "dramatic," "too sensitive," or "just anxious."
If that has been your experience, here is the good news. Once you understand that the big reactions and the ADHD are connected, treatment gets a lot more targeted. Dr. Gonzalez is a Certified ADHD Clinical Services Provider, and our team treats the emotional side of ADHD directly, not as an afterthought. Learn more on our ADHD therapy page.
Why "Someone to Talk To" Has Not Been Enough
Many parents tell us they have a whole list of therapists they have been calling for months. Some already tried two, three, or four. The sessions were pleasant, their child liked the therapist, and then Tuesday night still ended with a slammed door.
Talking about feelings helps you understand them. It does not always help you handle them at 9 p.m. when everything is falling apart.
Most of the people we see do not lack insight. They just never learned the skills to manage strong emotions. Emotion regulation work is different. It is practical and skills-based. You learn what to do in the moment: how to notice a wave building, how to ride it out without making things worse, and how to find your way back to calm faster each time. Then you practice those skills until they start to feel automatic.
That is the difference between general talk therapy and working with emotion regulation specialists. We are not trying to be everything to everyone. We are trying to be exactly what you need if big emotions are the core problem.
What Emotional Regulation Therapy at Lumina Actually Involves
Our work is built on Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), one of the most researched treatments for intense emotions. Do not worry if you have never heard of it. You do not need to know the name of a therapy to benefit from it. What matters is what you walk away with.
Skills you can use in the moment
Noticing: catching the early signs of overwhelm before they take over
Pausing: creating a few seconds of space between feeling and reacting
Riding it out: getting through a hard moment without shutting down or blowing up
Returning to baseline: calming your body and mind so the wave passes sooner
Repairing: reconnecting with the people you love after a hard moment
Support that fits your situation
Individual therapy for tweens, teens, young adults, and adults
Our Teen DBT Program, which combines weekly individual sessions, a weekly skills group, between-session phone coaching, and support for parents
Our Adult DBT Program for young adults and women who want the full skills framework
Parent coaching so you can stop walking on eggshells and start responding with confidence
Family therapy to lower the temperature at home and rebuild communication
Neurofeedback as an added option for some clients
Dr. Gonzalez is DBT-Linehan Board Certified, a credential held by clinicians who have met rigorous standards in DBT. That matters. A lot of therapists say they "use DBT skills." Far fewer are trained to deliver the full treatment. Not sure how to tell the difference? Our FAQ page explains what to look for.
Parents, You Do Not Have to Keep Tiptoeing
When your child has big reactions, the whole family starts to reorganize around avoiding them. You pick your battles until there are no battles left to pick. You stop asking questions. You stay quiet to keep the peace.
It works for a while. But it also leaves you lonely, worn out, and disconnected from your own kid.
We include parents because emotion regulation does not only happen in a therapy room. It happens at dinner, in the car, and at bedtime. Through parent coaching and family sessions, you will learn how to:
Respond to big reactions without adding fuel
Hold limits without triggering a blowup
Talk to your child again, even about hard things
Take care of your own stress so you are not running on empty
The goal is simple. A home where you can breathe again.
ASK FOR HELP
When It Feels Bigger Than Moodiness
Sometimes intense emotions lead to self-harm or thoughts of suicide. If that is part of what you or your child is dealing with, please know you are not scaring us away. This is work our team knows how to do well, and DBT was originally developed to help people facing exactly these struggles.
If you or someone you love is in immediate danger, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or call 911. Then reach out to us when you are safe, and we will talk about next steps.
Meet Your Emotion Regulation Team in Coral Gables
We offer therapy in English and Spanish at our Coral Gables office, serving families across Miami, including South Miami, Pinecrest, Kendall, Key Biscayne, and Doral. See all areas we serve.
Dr. Paola Lopez Saavedra
Psy.D., Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Lopez Saavedra is bilingual in Spanish and English and trained in DBT-informed skills groups and trauma-focused care. She works with anxiety, depression, ADHD, and trauma, including the ways they feed big emotional reactions.
Dr. Claudia Cereno Nadal
Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow, BCBA
Dr. Cedeno Nadal brings a decade of experience with children, teens, and families. She focuses on ADHD, emotional regulation, parent training, and practical behavioral strategies that work at home.
Dr. Maribel Gonzalez
Licensed Psychologist, Founder & Clinical Director
Dr. Gonzalez has spent more than 20 years helping people in emotional pain, with a special heart for teens who feel misunderstood. She is DBT-Linehan Board Certified, Board Certified in Neurofeedback (BCIA), and a Certified ADHD Clinical Services Provider. She is also a mom of three boys, so she understands family life from both sides of the couch.
Getting Started Takes One Phone Call
STEP TWO
Get matched with the right clinician.
We will talk through your needs and pair you with the team member who fits best.
STEP THREE
Start your first session.
Complete a few intake forms, and you are on your way.
Questions People Ask Us About Emotional Regulation Therapy
-
No. Emotional dysregulation is not a standalone diagnosis. It means having a harder time regulating intense emotions: they come on fast, feel intense, and are slow to settle. It often shows up alongside ADHD, anxiety, depression, or trauma, and it can be treated with skills-based therapy like DBT.
-
Yes, for many people. Research suggests emotion dysregulation affects a large share of children and adults with ADHD. In girls and women, this emotional side of ADHD is often more noticeable than trouble focusing, which is one reason it gets missed or mistaken for "just anxiety."
-
Talk therapy often focuses on understanding your feelings. Emotional regulation therapy focuses on changing what happens in the moment. You learn specific skills to notice, pause, ride out, and recover from intense emotions, and you practice them between sessions.
-
Often, yes. Many teens come to us after not connecting with other therapists. Our approach is practical rather than "tell me how you feel," which many teens find easier. Parent coaching can also start helping your home right away, even before your teen is fully on board.
-
No. Most of our clients are girls and women, but we work with anyone for whom intense emotions are the core struggle, including boys, men, and families.
-
It depends on your goals and the type of treatment you need. Clients in our full DBT programs typically commit to 6 months to a year. Our teen skills group runs for about 6 to 7 months. Many families notice changes at home well before the program ends.
-
Not at all. Just tell us what you are noticing, whether that is overwhelm, big reactions, shutting down, or conflict at home. We will explain the rest.
You Are Not Too Much. You Just Have Not Had the Right Tools Yet.
Whether you are a woman who is tired of feeling everything at full volume or a parent who misses the easy conversations with your daughter, there is a way through this. It starts with talking to people who treat emotion regulation every single day.
Lumina Counseling & Wellness | 1450 Madruga Ave, Suite 210, Coral Gables, FL 33146 | 305-703-0606