Emma Beale MA, LPC, Neurodivergent Relationship Specialist

Relationships fuel us and they also burden us. We long for connection and can feel scared when it comes. We hurt and are hurt by the ones we love most. In our work, we will strive to find the root of these patterns in your own relationship(s) and develop new patterns for interacting with others and managing emotions as they come.

Relationships can be equal parts beautiful and terrible. We may feel connected and then abandoned, anxious getting started, or burdened by past traumas in the present moment. Together, we can work to unpack those feelings and realign your approach to help build the relationship you want.

Your thoughts might feel sticky, scary, overwhelming or anxiety producing. The more you do to try to get rid of these thoughts, the worse they get. This can feel really discouraging and isolating. That's where therapy can help. I'm trined in Exposure and Response Prevention therapy through IOCDF, which is the leading evidence based treatment for OCD. Together, we can start to break the cycle of those sticky thoughts and help you regain some mental space and clarity.

The goal of ERP is to help your brain break the OCD cycle of reinforced fear. The goal is to show your brain that fear is nothing to be afraid of! ERP highly validated and is the treatment of choice for OCD.

EMDR is a trauma treatment approach that works to distract the working brain so you can drop into the feeling brain and reprocess trauma that is stored at an emotional level.

The Gottman's are the most widely recognized couples and relationship researchers in the field. Their therapeutic method combines a wide array of research, primarily focusing on how to build a foundation of friendship and trust while simultaneously tackling problematic communication patterns that erode that foundation.

Relationships where one or both partners are Autistic often come with struggles that are easy to misread. One partner may need quiet and routine to recharge while the other craves conversation and spontaneity. Literal versus implied communication can leave both people feeling misunderstood, and sensory overload or shutdown can look like distance. Couples therapy helps you decode each other, build supports that fit your brains, and reconnect without masking.