Marriage Counseling

Let's take a look at your relationship, and find ways to increase fondness and admiration, trust and security, effective communication, and build resiliency for when things seem to be heading off-track. And yes, we can also talk about sex!

As a couple’s therapist, my preferred couples are looking to reconnect either emotionally or sexually. I work to improve the couple connection, reduce conflict and increase positive communication styles.  

I believe humans have a base, fundamental need for connection, belonging and safety. The systems we grow up in teach us otherwise, and give us beliefs that defy those needs. We end up viciously pursuing independence at the expense of real connection. I help clients dismantle those practices and embrace new ones that foster the secure, fulfilling relationships we all hunger for in loneliness.

Humans are meant to have relationships with people. We learn how to do this by the people who are around us. Sometimes we don't learn the best habits, and it takes time to identify that there is perhaps a gap in what we expect and what we are giving/receiving. If we operate with the expectation that all of our needs will be met all of the time, we will likely always feel disappointed. Understand how to manage our expectations is paramount any healthy relationship.

I believe that some of the most profound healing and enlightenment can happen in relationship. As humans, we are built to connect and share our authentic selves with those we love. Unfortunately we live in a world that often does not support exactly that. When I work with couples, my hope is to facilitate an environment that can help heal past wounds, and build lasting and fulfilling relationships.

Having fulfilling relationships of any kind is the hardest part of living well. Add sexual attraction to the mix and you're in for a bumpy ride. The more intimacy you want to achieve, the trickier things get. It's odd that we save our worst behavior for those we love the most. I can teach you why and what to do about it. Love is a skill. Learn the skill and have fulfilling relationships.

Relationships are part of the foundation that make-up the human experience. They bring some of the greatest joys and the greatest pains to life. Together we can work on improving your relationship with yourself and those around you through processing past and present experiences, clarifying wants, needs, and desires, and improving communication strategies.

I have a passion for helping all couples improve their relationships and have training in 2 of the leading approaches for couple’s therapy: Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) and Gottman Method Couples Therapy. While EFT helps couples establish a secure attachment by learning how to identify and communicate underlying emotions, Gottman Therapy provides structure and skills for enhancing a couple’s friendship/connection, improving communication/conflict, and creating shared meaning/life goals.

Whether its with a romantic partner, a friend or a family member, relationships can be challenging. Are you wondering how to get out of the loop of endless arguments, feeling bad about yourself, feeling powerless to change things and then caving in to old beliefs that keep you stuck? Fast forward to a few weeks from now. You're starting to see a glimmer of hope. You understand more about relationships and how they work, and you're learning about setting and keeping boundaries.

"But love is like a language. If you speak it, it flows more and more easily. If you don't, then you start to lose it." --Sue Johnson

Relationship issues are at the center of so much distress. I would like to help you with yours.

We learn how to be close to one another from our earliest childhood relationships: mother and father, brothers and sisters, extended family and friends. We bring those experiences and expectations into every relationship we create. And when those relationships break down, we can feel betrayed, hurt, violated. I use Emotionally Focused Therapy, Non-Violent Communication, and Narrative Therapy to reframe experiences and expectations and make the relationship a place of safety and intimacy.

Many clients present with concerns about their relationships. This may include working through a break-up, adjusting to a new intimate relationship, sexual issues, family conflict, reassessment of friendships, challenges with coworkers, and difficulties in parenting. Our staff believe the most important aspect of therapy is the relationship between client and therapist, and this relationship can be transformative as clients work through challenges in their other primary relationships.

My practice focuses on relational work, especially couples work. I have worked with couples in various stages of relationship throughout my entire career. My work with couples is primarily based in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), with experience that includes multiple trainings from EFT founder Sue Johnson, and a formal EFT externship and supervision for certification. I am also trained in the Gottman Method Couples Therapy and Gestalt modalities.

I help couples navigate difficulties in relationship by uncovering their emotional truths and learning new ways to communicate. I shed light on internalized messages that clients may have learned from their own parents, or from society at large, that can create problems in their own relationship. This approach can involve difficult conversations, but with the right tools and support, my clients learn how to find joy and nurturing in their relationships.

My license is in Marriage & Family Therapy which means I am trained and skilled to work on relationships of all configurations. I have strong interests in working with adult clients of childhood alcoholic and/or abusive homes as well as divorce and

I have experience in many different varieties of couples therapy issues. Communication, arguing, polyamory, kink, open relationships, infidelity, and lack of intimacy are all topics that I have experience working with. The goal of couples therapy is to enhance the relationship in such a way that both individuals are able to come together as a team.

Because we each bring unique experiences, backgrounds, and cultures to the table, love is not always enough to sustain a healthy partnership. In couple's counseling we can work to create a secure emotional bond between partners through learning to be more open, attuned, and responsive to each other. Whatever the stage of your relationship, in therapy couples can learn to be emotionally available, empathetic, and engaged with one another.

Certified facilitator in delivering PREPARE/ENRICH. https://www.prepare-enrich.com/

Understanding one’s wants and needs in relationships; exploring patterns of interaction, addressing concerns, and strengthening satisfaction in relationships and dating