Therapy for High-Achieving Kids
& Perfectionism in Pasadena
with Erin Gauvin, LCSW
Helping successful kids feel as good as they look on paper
Your child is bright, capable, and successful.
They may earn excellent grades, excel in sports, perform onstage, take advanced classes, or seem unusually driven for their age. Teachers may love them. Coaches may praise them. Other parents may tell you how lucky you are.
And underneath all of that success, they may be incredibly hard on themselves.
High-achieving children can quietly struggle with anxiety, perfectionism, self-doubt, comparison, fear of disappointing others, or an enormous amount of pressure to keep succeeding.
These are often kids who look like they're doing wonderfully from the outside while carrying much more on the inside than other people realize.
I help bright, creative, gifted, and high-achieving children and teens build confidence and resilience so that achievement can remain part of their life without determining how they feel about themselves.
Becoming extremely upset about mistakes
Fear of disappointing parents, teachers, coaches, or themselves
Avoiding things they might not immediately be good at
Excessive studying or checking
Difficulty accepting anything less than their best
Comparing themselves constantly to peers
Harsh self-criticism
It Might Look Like
Anxiety before tests, competitions, performances, or games
Trouble enjoying accomplishments before moving onto the next goal
Procrastination driven by perfectionism
Difficulty asking for help
Feeling like achievements are never quite enough
Appearing confident while privately experiencing significant self-doubt
I have a particular interest in working with kids who are both highly capable and highly sensitive.
Therapy isn't about making an ambitious child less ambitious. Drive, creativity, curiosity, and high standards can all be wonderful strengths.
Instead, we work on making success more sustainable.
That might mean learning how to make mistakes without unraveling, separating self-worth from achievement, tolerating uncertainty, challenging perfectionistic thinking, developing healthier internal dialogue, and practicing doing things that feel uncomfortable or imperfect.
We can also look at the environment around the child- school expectations, extracurricular demands, family patterns, social comparison, and the subtle messages kids receive about what makes them valuable.
The goal isn't to take away their drive. It's to make sure their drive isn't taking away from them.
How I Help
logo
LOGO
LOGO
Logo
Think We’d Be a Good Fit?
About Me
My name is Erin. I’m a child and family therapist based in South Pasadena helping families across the country feel supported and strong.
Many of the families I work with have children who are bright, creative, highly sensitive, or high-achieving. These are often the kids who look like they are doing well from the outside while quietly struggling with anxiety, perfectionism, or pressure to succeed. I enjoy helping these kids build confidence and resilience while also supporting caregivers in understanding the challenges that may not always be visible.
I also know this kind of child as an insider. I was a high-performing, highly sensitive kid myself: academically driven, deeply involved, hard on myself, and drawn to both achievement and creativity. I understand the strengths that can come with being a driven, capable child, and I also understand how easily pressure, sensitivity, and self-expectation can become heavy.
Professionally, I’ve spent more than a decade in mental health and seven years working explicitly as a clinician with children and families. Before opening my private practice, my work took place across many settings: schools, hospitals, prisons, shelters, encampments, family homes, and intensive medical environments. Those experiences taught me that children and families are never just one thing: a child can be successful and anxious, gifted and overwhelmed, sensitive and strong, capable and still in need of care. I bring the full range of my clinical background into my work, but I also bring a deep belief that most serious dilemmas can be navigated with clarity, creativity, and companionship.
Outside of therapy, I’m an amateur cook with an inexplicable affinity for home repairs, reading, and wandering through used bookstores. My wife and I live in South Pasadena and enjoy exploring LA, trying new restaurants, and spending time with friends and family.
Availability
I worth with children from the ages of 7 through 18 and their families. I meet with people via telehealth who live in the state of California. Please inquire about in-person therapy opportunities for families living in Northeast LA area.
I’m additionally licensed in the states of Arizona, Washington, and Tennessee, and I’m able to work with families in these states.
Master of Science in Social Work, University of Tennessee- Knoxville, Certificate in Trauma Treatment
Bachelor of Arts in Social Work, Arizona State University
Practicum at Vanderbilt University Psychiatric Hospital
Licensed Clinical Social Worker in California #115370, Arizona # 21304, Washington #61589071, and Tennessee #8781
Certification in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
Certification in Perinatal Mental Health, Postpartum Support International
Bringing Home Baby Educator Training, Gottman Institute
Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) Training, by Dr. Eli Lebowitz of the Yale Child Study Center
Member of WPATH

