Some people experience their internal and external environments with heightened intensity. You may notice subtleties other people overlook, feel deeply affected by interpersonal tension, need substantial downtime after stimulation, or become overwhelmed by noise, crowds, emotional demands, or busy environments. The term Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) is commonly used to describe this temperament. In research, it’s sometimes described as sensory processing sensitivity. HSP is not a mental-health diagnosis, and sensitivity itself isn’t something therapy needs to eliminate. The difficulty arises when your environment repeatedly demands levels of stimulation, social interaction, or emotional processing that feel unsustainable. Or when you’ve spent years being told you’re “too sensitive.”

Therapy can help you understand your sensitivity without treating it as a character flaw. We’ll identify boundaries and environments that support you, develop strategies for overwhelm, and distinguish sensitivity from experiences that can overlap with it, including anxiety, trauma, ADHD, and autism. You don’t necessarily need to become less sensitive. You may need better ways to live with and honor the sensitivity you already have.