Couples Therapy
Maintaining a healthy and satisfying partnership can be far from easy.
All relationships need–and deserve–attention and care, even if they’re on solid ground.
Couples therapy and marriage counseling can help you to invest in one of the most important areas of your life: your relationship.
I support couples at every stage.
I can help you whether you’re in…
a long-term relationship or a new one
a marriage or partnership
a relationship where you’re not sure whether you want to stay or go
a relationship where you’re raising children together or are not on the same page
about having childrena relationship that has experienced infidelity or breach of trust
You wonder what happened, can we get it back?
You may have waited a long time to find “the one.” Maybe things started with a rush of excitement. It seemed like nothing could go wrong, but now things have become more complicated. Communication that used to flow has become more prone to misunderstanding or arguments. Instead of conversations, there are hurt feelings, blaming and discussions that go in circles.
Some days you may wonder if you’re attracted to your partner anymore or if they’re still attracted to you. Perhaps the emotional and physical intimacy you once shared has fallen off. Recognizing when things aren’t working takes courage. Sometimes people worry seeking help will make things worse. Even suggesting therapy to your partner might feel like you’re admitting you think there’s something wrong. The truth is relationships are hard. They take work. It can be hard to do that work on your own.
When you’re in a relationship you don’t stop being you.
Each of you brings with you your whole selves, including how you were raised, experiences in previous relationships, your vulnerabilities and challenges, your hopes and dreams.
When you go from being a “me” to an “us,” it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that the things frustrating you now may be the same things that attracted you to be each other in the first place.
I see my job as helping you and your partner understand yourselves and each other better, as well as the nature of the relationship you have created together.
Challenges in relationships, even a crisis, are an opportunity to get stronger together and individually.
My Approach
My goal is to help you as a couple identify and break down the blocks that prevent you from having the relationship you want. Some of the ways I do that are:
Improving your communication
Addressing lack of emotional connection
Exploring issues around closeness, intimacy, and sex
Helping you connect with empathy and compassion
Identifying and changing negative patterns, such as blaming and defensiveness
Working through hurts, such as infidelity, betrayals and breaches in trust
Recognizing and working with trauma
Working through questions about whether to continue or end the relationship.
My Training
My training includes intensive Inter-Analytic Couples and Sex Training at UCLA and incorporates tools and techniques from Esther Perel, The Gottman Method, and Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy.
These approaches share the foundational belief that the way in which you choose and respond in an intimate relationship is based on the attachment style formed at the earliest stages of life. Knowing more about this part of yourself and your partner can go a long way toward meeting each others’ needs, reducing conflict and strengthening your bond
Sex Positivity and inclusion
I am a sex positive therapist and work with individuals and couples in the LGBTQ+ community.
Trauma Awareness
Trauma is a factor that is often overlooked or misunderstood in relationships.
As a trauma specialist, I have the skills to identify and work with the ways in which trauma may be affecting one or both partners and the relationship itself.
To learn more about how trauma may be affecting your relationship, visit my Couples and Trauma page.
