Meet Jennafer Maguire, LMFT
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)
- CA License #134590
- In practice since 2019
- Individual, Couples & Family Therapy
- Pasadena & Telehealth throughout California
In a first session, I often hear a version of the same sentence: “We keep having this fight.” The words change, but the pattern doesn’t. The fight is rarely about the dishes, the money, or who forgot what. It traces back to what you learned about relationships long before this one existed.
“I care less about the argument than about what’s underneath it. That’s where the healing happens.”
I work from attachment theory and Internal Family Systems, mostly because they give people language for things they already half know about themselves: why a certain tone of voice makes you shut down, why being ignored for ten minutes can feel unbearable, why you keep ending up in the same dynamic, just with different people in it. None of that is a character flaw. It’s an old strategy that hasn’t figured out the war is over.
I see individuals, couples, and families. I’m LGBTQ+-affirming and trans- and non-binary-affirming, not as a line on a website but as how I actually practice. If you’ve never sat across from a therapist before, you’re not behind. Most people I work with hadn’t either.
My Approach
Sessions with me are direct. I ask real questions, and I sometimes push back gently, but I don’t just nod along. I’ll show up for you consistently and make room for the conversations that are hard to start out loud. I care less about the argument than about what’s underneath it. That’s where the healing happens.
Quick answers
- What is Internal Family Systems, and why does it matter for how we’d work together?
- Everyone has a reaction that shows up on repeat: going quiet, snapping, needing constant reassurance, or checking out completely, like you’re not even in the room anymore. It’s easy to see that reaction as a flaw, but IFS treats it differently. Every one of those reactions started as protection, learned long before this moment. Once you understand what it was protecting you from, self-blame loses its grip, and you have room to try something different.
- How does attachment theory explain the patterns I keep running into?
- The same pattern shows up again and again, just with different people. It isn’t bad luck. It comes from what you learned early about connection: what felt safe, what didn’t, what you had to do to be okay. Those lessons don’t disappear as you get older. They keep shaping how you react, even when the situation is completely different now. Attachment work means seeing that pattern clearly enough to change it, instead of living it on repeat.
- What does a session with you actually feel like?
- This isn’t fifty minutes of me sitting back and staying quiet. I’ll ask real questions. I’ll tell you what I’m noticing, and sometimes I’ll gently push back when I notice a gap between what you’re saying and what you seem to be feeling. If you’ve never done therapy before, this might look different than you expected: less “tell me about your childhood” and more “let’s look at what happened this week, and what it’s connected to.” The real material is right there.
Ready to talk?
A consultation is a low-pressure first step, a chance to ask questions and see if this feels right before committing to anything.