Emotional Regulation & Relational Patterns Program
An 8-week online group program for adults who want to understand why they feel and relate the way they do -and to build meaningful and sustainable change.
You can hold it together — at work, in relationships, for your family, for everyone who needs you. But underneath, the same patterns keep repeating.
You overthink the conversation that ended hours ago. You say yes when you mean no. You feel everything intensely, then criticise yourself for feeling it. You want closeness, but often feel overwhelmed or uncertain when it's there. You keep the peace, then resent yourself for it.
You can describe exactly how you are. What you've never been given is the why.
A different starting point
Most of these patterns aren't flaws in your character. They're emotional and relational habits - learned early, run automatically, and rarely understood.
When you understand what's actually driving them, something changes. The reaction that used to feel like just who you are becomes something you can see, name, and work with. That's where change starts - not with trying harder, but with understanding the architecture underneath.
This program is built around that idea. Over eight weeks, you'll move from recognising your patterns, to understanding where they come from, to building practical skills for managing emotions and relationships differently.
Who this is for.
This program is for adults who experience things like:
Difficulty managing strong or intense emotions
Chronic overthinking or emotional rumination
People-pleasing and difficulty setting boundaries
Fear of abandonment, disconnection, or difficulty tolerating distance
Relationship instability or recurring patterns that don't serve you
Chronic shame or harsh self-criticism
Difficulty expressing needs or asserting yourself
High-functioning anxiety, burnout, or emotional exhaustion
You don't need a diagnosis to take part. If these patterns feel familiar, this program is designed for you.
What you’ll learn.
Over eight weeks, you'll develop skills to:
Understand why your emotions intensify the way they do
Recognise the relational patterns you keep repeating
Set boundaries and express needs without guilt
Respond intentionally instead of reacting automatically
Build self-trust, self-worth, and steadiness
The eight weeks
Week 1 - Understanding emotions
Learn what emotions actually are, what function they serve, and why some people experience them more intensely than others. We begin by reframing emotional sensitivity through a psychological and nervous system lens.
Week 2 - Emotional triggers & nervous system activation
Understand how emotional reactions escalate before they become overwhelming. We map triggers, nervous system responses, and the early warning signs that often go unnoticed.
Week 3 - Emotion regulation foundations
Explore the factors that increase emotional vulnerability — stress, burnout, perfectionism, depletion — and build the foundations for greater stability.
Week 4 - Distress tolerance
Develop practical ways to move through emotional discomfort without reacting impulsively, avoiding, or abandoning yourself.
Week 5 - Attachment patterns & relational triggers
Identify how your attachment history shapes your emotional responses in relationships, including conflict, closeness, reassurance, and disconnection.
Week 6 - Boundaries, assertiveness & communicating needs
Learn how to identify your needs, communicate them clearly, and tolerate the discomfort that often comes with changing relational patterns.
Week 7 - Shame, rejection sensitivity & self-worth
Explore the deeper emotional drivers beneath many reactive patterns, including shame, fear of rejection, and chronic self-criticism.
Week 8 - Pattern integration & sustaining change
Bring everything together into a clearer understanding of your emotional and relational patterns, with a practical plan for carrying the work forward.
The approach
This program is facilitated by Isabella Lay, Clinical Psychologist, and draws on evidence-based approaches including CBT, DBT, ACT, and attachment-informed therapy.
It’s structured and skills-based, with the focus on both learning practical tools and understanding the deeper patterns underneath them.
Isabella has completed extensive training in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) over a 1.5-year period, including intensive training delivered through a program established by Marsha Linehan, the originator of DBT.
This training was facilitated by clinicians trained directly by Linehan and included structured teaching, supervised practice, participation in an international cohort of clinicians, and ongoing clinical consultation.
Her approach is practical, psychologically deep, and focused on helping people apply insight and skills in real-world situations.
How this fits with other support
This program can be completed:
as a standalone structured therapy program
alongside individual therapy
as part of broader emotional or relational work
following an assessment or psychological report
Many participants complete this program while continuing their individual therapy elsewhere.
Practical details
Format: 8 weekly sessions
Session length: 60 minutes
Delivery: Online via telehealth (Australia-wide)
Group size: 4–10 participants
Next intake: Commencing 22 July 2026
Fee: $110 per session.
A brief screening conversation is held before the group begins to make sure it’s the right fit.
Places are limited and enrolment is for the full 8-week program.
Payment is made upfront to secure your place and can be arranged in up to three instalments if preferred.
Frequently Asked Questions
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No. You’re welcome to enquire directly.
If you’d like to access a Medicare rebate, you’ll need a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP with group therapy specified.
You can also join privately without a plan.
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No.
This program is designed around patterns, not diagnoses.
If the emotional and relational patterns described here feel familiar, it may be a good fit.
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This is a structured, skills and insight-based group.
You are never required to disclose personal history or private details.
You’re welcome to share as much or as little as feels right for you.
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The program is designed as a full sequence, with each week building on the last.
Enrolment covers the full 8-week program.
If you miss a session, you may be able to attend that week in a future cohort to catch up, if space allows.
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Yes.
Many people complete this program alongside individual therapy.
It often complements and strengthens other therapeutic work.
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This program is designed for adults who are able to engage in structured outpatient group therapy.
It is not a crisis or acute-care service.
If you are currently in crisis, experiencing active suicidality, or needing intensive support, this group may not be the right fit on its own.
This can be discussed during the pre-group screening.
Want to read it later or share it with someone?
Download the program overview (PDF).
Ready to understand yourself differently?
If you’d like to register your interest or ask a question, get in touch.
Enquiries and self-referrals welcome.