Attachment-Based Therapy for Teens and Young Adults in Fort Wayne
You panic when a text goes unanswered. Or you pull away the moment someone gets close. Maybe you trust no one, or you trust too fast and get hurt. These patterns often trace back to how you learned to connect with the people who raised you.
Attachment-based therapy at Unwilted Counseling helps teens and young adults ages 13 to 25 understand those early lessons and build relationships that feel safer and steadier. Destina Rekeweg, LMHC, offers sessions in person in Fort Wayne and online across Indiana and eligible parts of Ohio. Book a free 15-minute consultation, or call or text (260) 255-6432.
Four Common Attachment Patterns
Secure
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In relationships: You can ask for support, set boundaries, and handle conflict without feeling like everything is at stake.
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Underneath: A basic sense that you’re worth caring about and that you can trust others.
Anxious
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In relationships: You worry that people will leave, need frequent reassurance, and read a lot into small changes in tone or texting.
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Underneath: Fear that love can disappear without warning.
Avoidant
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In relationships: In relationships: You value independence, pull back when things get emotional, and may struggle to ask for help.
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Underneath: A belief that relying on others leads to disappointment.
Disorganized
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In relationships: You want closeness but also fear it, so you may swing between clinging and pushing away.
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Underneath: Often linked to experiences where the people who offered comfort were also a source of fear.
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A quick caution: attachment styles aren’t diagnoses or fixed personality types. Most people show a mix, and patterns can shift with different people and life stages. Online quizzes can start a useful conversation, but they can’t tell the whole story.
Why Early Bonds Still Matter
British psychiatrist John Bowlby developed attachment theory in the mid-1900s. He proposed that children have a built-in drive to stay close to caregivers for safety and comfort. In the 1970s, psychologist Mary Ainsworth’s research showed that children develop different attachment patterns depending on how consistently caregivers respond.
Later, in 1987, researchers Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver found that similar patterns show up in adult romantic relationships. In other words, the way you learned to seek comfort as a child often shapes how you handle closeness, conflict, and breakups now. That’s the foundation of attachment-based therapy.
Attachment Can Change
Attachment researchers use the term “earned security” to describe people who didn’t grow up feeling secure but developed secure patterns later in life. Supportive relationships, including a steady therapy relationship, can help make that shift possible.
That’s a big part of why attachment-based therapy focuses on the relationship between you and your therapist. A consistent, safe person to check in with each week gives your nervous system a new experience of connection. Over time, that experience can carry into friendships, dating, and family life.
What Attachment-Based Therapy Focuses On
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Your relationship history. You’ll explore how early experiences with caregivers shaped what you expect from others. Our post on how past experiences shape your emotions explains this connection.
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Patterns in current relationships. Together, you’ll notice what happens when you feel close, rejected, or in conflict, and what you tend to do next.
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The feelings underneath. Anxious checking or sudden withdrawal usually protects against something painful. Therapy makes room to feel and understand it.
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New ways to connect. You’ll practice asking for what you need, setting boundaries, and staying steady when relationships feel uncertain.
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At Unwilted, attachment-based therapy is part of a broader emotionally focused and relational approach. Destina may also draw on EMDR, IFS-informed work, emotion-focused therapy, and psychodynamic therapy.
What the Research Says
The best-studied attachment-based treatment for teens involves families. In a 2010 trial published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Guy Diamond and colleagues studied 66 adolescents ages 12 to 17 with suicidal thoughts. Attachment-Based Family Therapy reduced suicidal thinking and depressive symptoms more than enhanced usual care.
A larger 2019 trial by the same research group found that this family approach worked about as well as a supportive family therapy, with both groups improving substantially. So the evidence supports attachment-focused care, while also showing that a strong, steady therapy relationship matters a lot.
Unwilted offers individual therapy rather than full family therapy. Destina brings attachment principles into one-on-one sessions and includes parents when it’s clinically helpful and the teen agrees.
Concerns Attachment-Based Therapy Can Help With
Attachment-based therapy often helps when patterns like these keep showing up:
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Fear of abandonment, jealousy, or needing constant reassurance > Relationship counseling
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Painful breakups or getting stuck on an ex > Relationship and breakup counseling
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Feeling unworthy of love or support > Self-esteem and identity counseling
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Childhood hurt, neglect, or unstable caregiving > Trauma therapy
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Anxiety that spikes around relationships > Anxiety and depression therapy
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Big emotional reactions during conflict at home >Emotion regulation counseling
Where Parents Fit In
Attachment work with teens often touches family relationships, so parents may wonder what their role is. Attachment-based therapy at Unwilted isn’t about blaming parents. After all, most parents did their best with what they had, and many are working through their own attachment histories.
For clients ages 13 to 17, parents meet with Destina briefly at intake and receive general progress updates. What your teen shares stays private, except when safety is a concern. When it’s clinically helpful and your teen agrees, Destina may invite you into a session, for example, to practice a repair conversation after conflict. Learn more about counseling for teens and young adults.
Meet Your Therapist
Destina Rekeweg, LMHC, founded Unwilted Counseling in 2024 and is its only therapist. That matters for attachment work, because you build trust with one consistent person instead of switching between providers. She works exclusively with ages 13 to 25 and has supported young people since 2019 in community mental health and social service settings.
Destina holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. She’s EMDR trained, IFS-informed, and has completed ASIST suicide intervention training. She’s an Indiana Licensed Mental Health Counselor (license #39005463A) and a member of the National Board for Certified Counselors. She doesn’t prescribe medication but can coordinate with a prescriber.
Seven Things to Know Before Your First Session
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Location: 3514 Stellhorn Rd., Fort Wayne, IN 46815, with free parking and accessible facilities. Clients come from Fort Wayne, Allen County, New Haven, Huntertown, and Leo-Cedarville.
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Online sessions: Virtual therapy uses encrypted video in your browser, with no download and no recording. You need to be in Indiana or an eligible part of Ohio, through the Counseling Compact, and you can mix online and in-person sessions.
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Hours: Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, 3 to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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Fees: The 50-minute intake is $160, and ongoing 50-minute sessions are $135. Intensives are $202.50 for 75 minutes, $270 for 100 minutes, and $405 for 150 minutes.
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Payment: Card, HSA or FSA card, cash, check, or the client portal.
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Insurance: Unwilted is private pay. Superbills are available for possible out-of-network reimbursement, depending on your plan.
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Policies: You can request a Good Faith Estimate under the No Surprises Act. Cancellations need 48 hours’ notice, and Unwilted waives the late fee if you reschedule within the same week.
Your First Month of Attachment-Based Therapy
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Before you start: Book a free 15-minute phone consultation by call, text, email, or the contact form. You’ll get a reply within 24 business hours.
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About two days before your first visit: Complete secure intake forms, which take 15 to 20 minutes.
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Week one: Meet for a 50-minute assessment to talk about your relationships and set goals.
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Weeks two through four: Start regular sessions, usually weekly at first, then every other week or monthly as you progress.
Frequently Asked Questions
About Attachment-Based Therapy
No. Many people come in after reading about attachment styles online, and others have never heard the term. Either way, attachment-based therapy starts with your real experiences, which tell you far more than a quiz label. Destina will help you understand your own patterns from there.
Not quite. Some clinics use “attachment therapy” for specialized work with young children who have attachment disorders. At Unwilted, attachment-based therapy means using attachment research to help teens and young adults understand and improve their relationships through individual talk therapy.
No. The goal is understanding, not blame. Exploring early relationships helps explain patterns you see today, but it also recognizes that parents faced their own challenges. In fact, many clients find that understanding their history actually improves their relationships with family.
Yes. Researchers use the term “earned security” for people who develop secure patterns later in life. Consistent, supportive relationships, including therapy, can help. Still, change usually happens gradually, as new experiences of trust slowly replace old expectations.
Yes. Because the work is conversation-based, it fits well with secure video sessions. Virtual sessions are available anywhere in Indiana and in eligible parts of Ohio, and you can switch between online and in-person appointments as your needs change.
Good Faith Estimate: Clients paying privately have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate explaining expected costs of care. You may request this prior to scheduling.
Build Relationships That Feel Safer!
The way you learned to connect isn’t the only way you can connect. Book a free 15-minute consultation with Destina to see if attachment-based therapy fits. Contact Unwilted Counseling, or call or text (260) 255-6432.
