Client: Male, 34, senior product manager, in a 4-year relationship.

Presenting problems:
Repeated emotional shutdown during conflict, insomnia, panic before performance reviews, overwork, guilt, and fear of disappointing others.

Timeline:
Pattern present since late teens, but significantly worse over the last 18 months after his father's death, promotion into management, and increased relationship pressure around marriage and children.

Observed behavior:
During conflict he becomes quiet, looks down, says "I go blank," leaves the room, and later sends long apologetic messages. In recent sessions he intellectualized emotions, redirected attention to tasks, and became visibly tense when asked about anger or dependency.

Self-report:
"If I show what I feel, people use it against me."
"I have to fix the room or everything gets worse."
"I don't feel safe needing anything from anyone."
"I'm either useful or I'm a burden."

Collateral from partner:
Describes him as dependable, thoughtful, and high-functioning in practical matters, but emotionally inaccessible under stress. Reports a repeating cycle of pursuit, shutdown, apology, temporary closeness, and renewed distance. Says he minimizes his own needs for days and then becomes cold or irritable.

Family/developmental context:
Father described as critical, achievement-focused, and emotionally withholding.
Mother described as anxious and emotionally dependent on the client from a young age.
Client often acted as mediator in family conflict and felt responsible for stabilizing the home.

Current functioning:
High performer at work, perfectionistic, avoids delegation, exhausted, reduced sleep, muscle tension, difficulty relaxing, no substance misuse, no known psychosis or mania, denies self-harm, admits passive hopeless thoughts when overwhelmed but no plan or intent.

Protective factors:
Employed, intelligent, some insight, willing to attend therapy, stable housing, one close friend, partner still engaged, no substance abuse.

Unknowns:
Trauma history, medical contributors to insomnia, prior therapy outcomes, medication history, attachment history outside family, and behavior under non-romantic interpersonal stress.