“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.” -Brené Brown
As humans, we are wired for connection. Because of this, we go to our partners for love, security, comfort and affection. But when we aren't sure if we will receive these things, we have all kinds of ways of protecting ourselves, including becoming critical or anxious, shutting down, and pulling away. Of course, these types of strategies then can trigger your partner to feel hurt, sometimes then creating more problems! When this happens, partners tend to feel "stuck" in these recurring patterns of interactions.
I help partners who are experiencing this find new ways of interacting with each other that promote and restore connection, empathy, and intimacy. My style has been described as “gentle yet firm”- I take a strengths-based approach, but also believe it is important to intervene when I observe unhelpful positions and behaviors in sessions. I believe that overall, couples therapy should be a positive experience that reminds you why your relationship is worth fighting for. I invite clients to take a collaborative approach when working with me, as I believe therapy is most successful when clients have an active role in setting their own goals.
Some of the issues I work with when seeing couples and partnerships include concerns about trust, emotional intimacy, infidelity, sexuality, conflict resolution, grief, opening up relationships, navigation poly relationships, and life transitions. I integrate both Gottman method and Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy into my work.
Breakdown of Couples Therapy sessions:
As humans, we are wired for connection. Because of this, we go to our partners for love, security, comfort and affection. But when we aren't sure if we will receive these things, we have all kinds of ways of protecting ourselves, including becoming critical or anxious, shutting down, and pulling away. Of course, these types of strategies then can trigger your partner to feel hurt, sometimes then creating more problems! When this happens, partners tend to feel "stuck" in these recurring patterns of interactions.
I help partners who are experiencing this find new ways of interacting with each other that promote and restore connection, empathy, and intimacy. My style has been described as “gentle yet firm”- I take a strengths-based approach, but also believe it is important to intervene when I observe unhelpful positions and behaviors in sessions. I believe that overall, couples therapy should be a positive experience that reminds you why your relationship is worth fighting for. I invite clients to take a collaborative approach when working with me, as I believe therapy is most successful when clients have an active role in setting their own goals.
Some of the issues I work with when seeing couples and partnerships include concerns about trust, emotional intimacy, infidelity, sexuality, conflict resolution, grief, opening up relationships, navigation poly relationships, and life transitions. I integrate both Gottman method and Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy into my work.
Breakdown of Couples Therapy sessions:
- Session #1 – Initial intake session with Couple
- Session #2 – Partner A individual session
- Session #3 – Partner B individual session
- Session #4 – Feedback session with couple
- Session #5 and beyond are spent working on the identified areas of concern in the relationship.