Therapy for Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA) in Beaverton, Oregon
Therapy in Beaverton, Oregon — Online in Oregon & Washington
I’m Ruth Hescock LPC, and I provide in-person counseling for Adult Children of Alcoholics in my Beaverton, Oregon therapy practice, as well as secure online therapy for clients across Oregon and Washington. Whether you’re new to therapy or returning after time away, you are welcome here.
This is a space where your experiences matter—and healing is possible.
Growing up with a parent who struggled with alcohol or substance use can have a lasting impact—long after childhood is over.
Many Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA) learn to become responsible, quiet, caretaking, or hyper-independent at an early age. You may look strong on the outside, but inside you feel anxious, uncertain, or disconnected from your true self. Therapy can help you begin to untangle these patterns so you can finally feel safe, grounded, and whole.
I provide in-person and trauma-informed therapy for Adult Children of Alcoholics Beaverton, Oregon, and online therapy throughout Oregon and Washington. Together, we’ll work gently and at your pace to help you understand where these patterns came from—and begin to build a more secure, peaceful inner world.
If you grew up with a parent who misused alcohol or substances, you may still be carrying the emotional impact today — even if you rarely talk about it. Maybe you learned early on to stay quiet, stay alert, and take care of everyone else. Maybe you became the responsible one, the strong one, or the invisible one. On the outside, you look put-together. On the inside, you might feel anxious, overwhelmed, or unsure of who you really are.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. And you don’t have to keep carrying this by yourself. As a child, you may have learned to:
Stay invisible to avoid conflict
Take care of others emotionally or physically
Predict mood swings or danger
Suppress your own needs
Work hard to “keep the peace”
Feel responsible for other people’s feelings
These skills once protected you. But as an adult, they may no longer serve you—and may even hold you back from feeling safe in relationships, trusting yourself, or fully enjoying your life.
Who Are Adult Children of Alcoholics?
Common Challenges Adult Children of Alcoholics Face
Not everyone experiences the same symptoms, but many Adult Children of Alcoholics struggle with:
Anxiety or chronic stress
Difficulty trusting others
Perfectionism or people-pleasing
Feeling emotionally numb or disconnected
Fear of abandonment
Trouble setting boundaries
Low self-worth
Caretaking or codependent patterns
Difficulty relaxing or feeling safe
Strong reactions to conflict or criticism
Staying in unhealthy relationships
Feeling like a burden—or like you must hold everything together
You may also feel confused about your childhood, unsure whether it was “really that bad,” while still noticing the emotional after-effects in your adult life.
You are not broken. These responses are completely understandable—and change is possible.
How Therapy Helps Adult Children of Alcoholics Heal
Therapy offers a supportive, non-judgmental space where you don’t have to minimize or explain away what you went through. Together, we’ll explore how your past shaped your nervous system, beliefs, and relational patterns—so you can begin to choose new ways of being rather than reacting out of old survival strategies.
Through our work, you can begin to:
Feel safer and calmer in your body
Build healthy boundaries
Develop self-trust and compassion
Release shame and self-criticism
Create healthy, fulfilling relationships
Break generational patterns
Reclaim your authentic self
EMDR Therapy for Adult Children of Alcoholics
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a powerful, evidence-based therapy for trauma and emotional wounds. For Adult Children of Alcoholics, EMDR can help you gently reprocess painful memories, beliefs, and body-held stress responses—without needing to relive the trauma in detail.
EMDR may help you:
Reduce emotional triggers
Feel less hypervigilant or on edge
Release stored stress from the body
Reprocess childhood experiences
Create new, healthier core beliefs about yourself
Feel calmer, safer, and more grounded
Many clients describe EMDR as deeply healing because it allows the nervous system to finally relax.
IFS Therapy (Internal Family Systems) for Adult Children of Alcoholics
Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps you explore the different “parts” of you—like the caretaker, the perfectionist, the protector, or the hurt inner child. Instead of judging or silencing these parts, we learn to listen to them with compassion.
IFS can help you:
Understand why your protective parts developed
Heal the wounded parts of you that still feel young or unseen
Shift out of shame and self-criticism
Develop a strong, compassionate inner core (Self)
IFS is gentle, respectful, and deeply empowering—especially for those who grew up feeling unseen or invalidated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes. Ruth Hescock LPC, offers in-person therapy for Adult Children of Alcoholics in Beaverton, Oregon. I work with adults who grew up in families impacted by alcohol use and now experience anxiety, relationship challenges, people-pleasing, or difficulty feeling safe and grounded.
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Yes. Ruth Hescock LPC, provides secure online therapy for Adult Children of Alcoholics throughout Oregon and Washington. Online counseling allows you to receive trauma-informed care, including EMDR and Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, from the comfort of your home.
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Yes. My Beaverton, Oregon office serves clients from the greater Portland metro area, including nearby communities. In-person sessions are available in Beaverton, and online therapy is an option for clients across Oregon and Washington.
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I offer trauma-informed therapy for Adult Children of Alcoholics in Beaverton, Oregon, including EMDR therapy and Internal Family Systems (IFS). These approaches help address the long-term emotional effects of growing up with parental addiction and support nervous system healing.
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You can get started by scheduling a free consultation to discuss your goals and learn more about therapy for Adult Children of Alcoholics in Beaverton, Oregon, or through online counseling in Oregon and Washington.
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EMDR therapy in Beaverton helps Adult Children of Alcoholics process unresolved childhood experiences that continue to affect emotional regulation, relationships, and self-worth. EMDR can reduce triggers, calm chronic anxiety, and help your nervous system feel safer.
IFS therapy helps Adult Children of Alcoholics understand and heal the protective and wounded parts that developed in childhood. Through IFS therapy in Beaverton or online in Oregon and Washington, clients often experience increased self-compassion, clarity, and emotional balance.