Relationship Counseling

Intimate relationships offer immense potential for growth, joy, and satisfaction. But relationship dynamics evolve over time and can become entrenched, stuck, and painful. 

You may find that you don’t understand your partner’s point of view, you can’t seem to agree on anything, and you’re feeling alone and isolated.

You might feel like you’ve failed or that your relationship is doomed because you can’t seem figure it out on your own.  We often get messages that “happily ever after” is the norm, but rarely do we get validation that relationships can be a struggle.

In couples therapy, I offer support in facing challenges such as:

Inability to resolve differences
Increased anger and conflict
Trouble reconnecting after a loss or trauma
Loss of trust or an affair
Sexual problems

Another common myth about relationships is that transitions such as moving in together, starting a family, or marrying are supposed to be happy, joyful and easy. Many couples are surprised to find that these transitions can also be agonizing because they tend to illuminate your differences.

How Can Therapy Help?

Couples counseling can help address challenges with communication, conflict, infidelity, anger, power dynamics and sex.

Couples might also seek therapy to improve emotional and sexual intimacy or to address differences before they become problematic and negatively impact the relationship.

Some couples seek treatment during the process of separation and divorce to get help with letting go, shifting to a different kind of relationship or learning to be collaborative co-parents.

Couples therapy provides a neutral and supportive environment to safely explore difficulties in your relationship. Working with a therapist can help you understand each other more fully and bridge the distance that has developed when conflicts have remained unresolved and resentments have accumulated.

The focus of therapy is to develop a better understanding of each partner’s desires, feelings, and behaviors in order to identify opportunities for change.

We might also work to facilitate more effective communication, understand the underlying needs of each partner and identify the roots of conflict.

Benefits of couples counseling might include learning how to forgive and reconnect, work together as a team to nurture your relationship, and support each other as individuals.

I welcome people in straight, LGBTQ and alternative relationships.

I work with clients who are dating, married, or partnered, and I am open to all spiritual traditions.

My work with couples is informed by Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Collaborative Couple Therapy, and Accelerated Experiential-Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) .