About Aven Barbosa

Aven Barbosa, APC, NCC

Under directed experience and clinical supervision of Liza Reed, MS, LMFT, LPC, CPCS, LPC8873.

I work with adults and couples who feel stuck in patterns they understand intellectually but can’t seem to change—anxiety, people-pleasing, perfectionism, burnout, relationship disconnection, life transitions, or simply wondering, “How did I get here?”

My own path to becoming a therapist was anything but linear. Before entering the counseling field, I spent years changing directions, building a career outside of mental health, and eventually finding my way back to something that had quietly interested me for a long time: understanding people, relationships, and the experiences that shape who we become. That winding path shaped my belief that growth rarely follows a straight line—and that the parts of our story that once looked like detours can make much more sense when we look back at them with curiosity and compassion.

In our work together, we’ll look beyond the symptoms to understand the emotional, relational, and attachment patterns that may be keeping you stuck. We may explore how these patterns developed, how they show up in your life and relationships today, and what happens internally when they’re activated. The goal isn’t simply to understand yourself better, but to help you develop greater emotional awareness, strengthen connection, respond differently to familiar patterns, and make choices that feel more aligned with who you want to be.

My approach is grounded primarily in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), attachment theory, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), while integrating elements of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness, and other approaches based on your individual needs.

In the therapy room, you can expect warmth, curiosity, collaboration, humor when it fits, and a therapist who isn’t afraid to gently challenge you. I believe meaningful therapy goes beyond simply managing symptoms. Sometimes we need to slow things down enough to understand what’s happening beneath the surface—what we’re feeling, what we’re protecting, what we need, and the patterns we’ve learned along the way.

Whether you’re navigating anxiety, burnout, a major life transition, relationship struggles, or a growing sense that something in your life needs to change, you don’t have to have it all figured out before beginning. Therapy can be a place to get curious about where you’ve been, understand where you are, and become more intentional about where you want to go.

Specializes in:

Couples Counseling, Women’s Issues, Menopause & Pre-Menopause, Internal Family Systems Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Strengths-Based Therapy, Anxiety, Depression, Emotionally Focused Therapy, Step-Parenting, Blended Families, Premarital Counseling