Emotional walls tend to generalize over time. A person might initially build them in response to one kind of relationship, romantic partners, for example, and then find that the same walls eventually appear in friendships, family relationships, and professional interactions. The progression is gradual enough that the person may not notice it until the isolation has become pervasive. They have acquaintances but no close friends. They have family they see on holidays but no one they would call in a crisis. They function well socially but feel fundamentally alone.
Dr. David Steinbok works with patients from Boynton Beach, Florida and surrounding communities who have reached this point. A therapist who understands why people push everyone away recognizes that the wall is not the problem. The wall is the solution the person developed in response to the original problem. Therapy works to understand what the original problem was and whether the wall is still necessary given the patient's current circumstances and relationships.
