Emotional numbness feels like something is missing, which naturally leads the person to conclude that something is broken. The reframe that therapy provides is that nothing is broken. The emotional system is functioning exactly as it was designed to function under threat. The numbness is a defense, the emotional equivalent of a circuit breaker that trips when the system is overloaded. The circuit breaker is doing its job. The problem is that it tripped in response to a past overload and has not been reset, because the conditions for resetting it have not been present.
Dr. David Steinbok works with adults in Boca Raton who are experiencing emotional numbness as a defense rather than a deficit. A feeling emotionally numb therapist in Boca Raton who understands the protective function of the numbness will not try to override it. The therapeutic process creates the conditions, relational safety, consistency, and patience, under which the defensive shutdown can begin to release on its own.
