Self-Sabotage Therapy in Utah | Lionheart Counseling LLC
You know what you want. You know what you need to do. And somehow, you keep ending up back at square one — frustrated, confused, and quietly wondering if this is just who you are.
It isn't. What you're dealing with has a name. And it has a root.
What Is Self-Sabotage?
Self-sabotage is the pattern of getting in your own way — often without fully understanding why. It shows up differently for different people but might look like:
Leaving relationships right when they start to feel real and safe
Procrastinating on or abandoning goals that genuinely matter to you
Making impulsive decisions that undermine your own progress
Pushing people away before they have the chance to leave
Talking yourself out of opportunities before you've even tried
Repeating the same patterns across different jobs, relationships, or situations
Self-sabotage rarely feels intentional. Most people who struggle with it are deeply frustrated by it and desperately want to stop. The problem is that willpower and awareness alone almost never work — because self-sabotage almost always has a root that goes deeper than behavior.
Where Self-Sabotage Actually Comes From
Underneath most self-sabotaging patterns are beliefs and experiences from the past — often from childhood or earlier relationships — that taught you something about who you are, what you deserve, or what's safe to want.
Maybe you learned early that good things get taken away, so you unconsciously destroy them first. Maybe you internalized the message that you're not capable, so you prove it by holding back. Maybe you experienced something painful enough that your nervous system learned to protect you from vulnerability — even when vulnerability is exactly what a relationship or opportunity requires.
These aren't character flaws. They're adaptations. And they can be changed.
How Therapy Helps With Self-Sabotage
Therapy at Lionheart Counseling is specifically designed to get to the root of self-sabotage — not just help you manage it differently. Using four evidence-based approaches, we address the patterns at every level:
Internal Family Systems (IFS) — helps you identify the specific internal "parts" driving the self-sabotage. The protector that shuts things down before they can hurt you. The inner critic that undermines you before anyone else can. IFS helps these parts heal so they stop working against you.
EMDR Therapy — processes the past experiences that created the beliefs fueling the self-sabotage, so they lose their grip on your present behavior.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — identifies the specific thought patterns reinforcing the cycle and replaces them with something more accurate and useful.
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) — builds forward momentum by identifying what's already working and amplifying it.
Who This Is For
This page is for adults who:
Recognize the pattern and are genuinely ready to understand and break it
Have tried willpower, self-help, and awareness — and found it wasn't enough
Want a therapist who will help them get to the root, not just the surface
Are ready to do real work in a space that's safe enough to do it
You Don't Have to Keep Getting in Your Own Way
The patterns keeping you stuck didn't develop randomly. They made sense once. They just don't anymore. And when you finally understand where they came from, you get to decide whether they still get to run your life.
Ready to break the cycle? Book a Session or reach out at dax@lionheartcounselingllc.com | (801) 921-7854
Telehealth available throughout Utah. In-person sessions in Murray, UT Tuesday–Friday.
Dax Johnson, LCMHC (#13937032-6004) | Lionheart Counseling LLC | 5296 S Commerce Dr, Suite 206, Murray, UT 84107