Today we’d like to introduce you to Cheryl Groskopf
Hi Cheryl, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Becoming a therapist wasn’t always the plan, but looking back, it makes total sense. I’ve always been curious about why people do what they do—why we repeat the same patterns, get stuck in cycles, or hold onto things that aren’t good for us. At first, I thought I’d go into forensic psychology, but the more I learned about trauma, attachment, and the nervous system, the more I realized what really fascinated me wasn’t just understanding emotions—it was figuring out how to actually change them.
That curiosity led me to study somatic therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and attachment-based approaches. I realized pretty quickly that talk therapy alone often doesn’t go deep enough. We can understand our struggles logically, but that doesn’t mean they stop showing up in our relationships, careers, or self-worth. The body holds onto so much more than we realize—old wounds, past traumas, subconscious fears, the ways we learned to survive in childhood. And if we don’t work with those deeper layers, we end up stuck in the same cycles…just with more awareness of them.
Starting my own practice, Evolution to Healing Psychotherapy in Los Angeles, felt like a natural next step. I wanted to create a space where people could finally connect the dots between their past experiences and their present struggles, without feeling like they were just venting every week. I work with people who have spent years prioritizing everyone else—people pleasers, perfectionists, high-functioning anxious adults who’ve been the “strong one” for so long they don’t even know what it would feel like to let go of that role. Helping people untangle those patterns and actually build something new is the most rewarding work I could imagine.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not smooth, but I think that’s true for most therapists who go into private practice. Therapy is one thing. Running a business is a whole different skill set. There’s no roadmap for how to find your ideal clients, market yourself in a way that feels authentic, or balance the work of holding space for others while also taking care of yourself. It’s a process of constant learning—figuring out what works, what doesn’t, and how to make this career sustainable in a way that still feels meaningful.
One of the biggest challenges was navigating burnout. When you spend your days helping others process their emotions, it’s easy to forget that you also have a nervous system that needs care. I had to learn how to set boundaries—not just with clients, but with myself. Learning when to step back, when to rest, and when to say no has been just as important as any training or certification.
There’s also the challenge of working in a system that doesn’t always value the kind of work I do. Insurance companies don’t prioritize somatic therapy or attachment-based work, even though research shows how deeply effective they are. A lot of people come to me after years of traditional therapy that didn’t help them actually feel different. It’s frustrating, but it also pushes me to keep advocating for this kind of work, because I see how much of a difference it makes.
At the same time, the struggles have made the wins feel that much more meaningful. Seeing clients finally recognize their own patterns, feel safer in their relationships, and trust themselves in a way they never have before—that’s what keeps me going. The challenges are real, but the work is worth it!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Evolution to Healing Psychotherapy is my private therapy practice based in Los Angeles, and it’s designed for people who are exhausted from constantly managing how others feel. I work with people who have spent years people-pleasing, over-explaining, and putting themselves last without even realizing it. My work focuses on helping clients understand how these patterns developed—not just intellectually, but in a way that allows them to actually shift out of them.
I specialize in somatic therapy, attachment-based work, trauma and complex-ptsd therapy because real change happens when we address the body and the nervous system, not just thoughts. Most of our struggles aren’t just “mindset issues”—they’re deeply wired responses based on past experiences. If you grew up in an environment where your needs weren’t prioritized, your body adapted to that. It learned to shrink, to anticipate other people’s emotions, to keep you safe by avoiding conflict or never asking for too much. Those patterns don’t just disappear because you recognize them—they need to be rewired at a deeper level. That’s what my work is all about.
What sets my practice apart is the way I integrate science, deep emotional work, and practical tools in a way that actually makes sense. I also used a trauma-informed approach. I don’t believe in surface-level coping skills that don’t address the root of the issue. My approach is warm, collaborative, and focused on helping clients understand themselves in a way that feels clarifying rather than overwhelming. There’s a lot of misinformation out there about trauma, attachment, and nervous system regulation, and part of what I love about my work is helping people see that there’s nothing “wrong” with them—they’re just operating from old survival strategies that can be shifted.
The thing I’m most proud of is seeing how this work genuinely transforms people’s lives. It’s not about perfection or getting rid of every trigger—it’s about helping people build real emotional safety within themselves. When clients start to feel less anxious in relationships, set boundaries without guilt, or trust themselves to navigate conflict in a way they never could before, that’s when I know the work is making an impact.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I genuinely love this work. That might sound basic, but it changes everything. People can tell when you actually care, and that’s what makes therapy with me feel different. I don’t see this as just a job—it’s something I’m deeply invested in. The best part of my work isn’t just hearing people’s stories. It’s watching them start to see themselves differently, noticing that they can change, that they aren’t stuck, that their old ways of coping don’t have to define them forever.
Loving this work also means I never stop learning. There’s always more to understand about how trauma, attachment, and the nervous system shape us, and I actually enjoy figuring out how to make therapy more effective. I don’t stick to one rigid method—I pull from somatic therapy, IFS, attachment science, and neuroscience, depending on what actually works for the person in front of me. If something isn’t clicking, I adjust. My goal is never just to help clients “talk things out”—it’s to help them feel different in their actual, day-to-day lives.
It also means I show up fully for my clients. You’re not getting a therapist who just nods and asks, “How does that make you feel?” every session. I engage. I help clients connect dots they’ve never seen before. I don’t believe in therapy that drags on without direction—my focus is on real, tangible change that makes people feel more at home in their own skin.
At the end of the day, I love this work because I get to witness people reclaiming themselves. That shift—from feeling stuck and anxious to feeling more grounded, more self-assured, more free—is why I do this. There’s nothing more rewarding than watching someone realize they’re not (nor have they ever been) “broken,” that they were just adapting to old survival patterns, and that they now have the power to choose something different.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.evolutiontohealing.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylgroskopflmft
- Other: https://g.co/kgs/9YV1aLJ
