Couples Counseling / Marriage Counseling
Do you want to reconnect and find closeness that seems to have vanished?
Perhaps you just don't feel special anymore and you're tired of fighting.
Maybe you're thinking about engagement, or are newly committed,
and you want to prevent distancing.
Are you considering an affair―or have had one?
You're not sure how to disclose this and are terrified it will end the relationship?
I’ll support you in making sense of where your relationship is stuck.
Many of us have never learned how to communicate in an intimate relationship.
Together we will learn how you can channel your passion for each other
into rediscovering feelings of love, commitment, and partnership.
My couples therapy work is rooted in Gottman's Method of relationship therapy. I use IFS and am also trained in using Prepare/Enrich, the countries leading pre-marital counseling program.
There is a lot to offer to couples wanting to increase and sustain their connection.
Site Content
First Session
What do we focus on?
Treatment Plan
Upon scheduling, you will receive an intake packet with essential information and forms.
The goal in this first session is to understand, from your perspective, what it's like to be you in your relationship. You'll share your "story of us" and what brought you in.
Let's get a glimpse into what you experience now and what you hope for.
Treatment Plan
What do we focus on?
Treatment Plan
Many couples like to complete a pre-therapy assessment giving them a glimpse of their relationship's strengths and struggles. Then they can repeat it at the end and see how much has changed! This however isn't required.
We will collaborate to design a treatment plan and therapy that works for you.
What do we focus on?
What do we focus on?
What if we experience...
We focus on naming what you do that works.
You may already be doing things that sustain and improve relationships over time.
We name them, claim them, and use them.
We also discover what you do not know yet. We learn and practice the skills that
grow relationships over time.
We do things differently.
We also explore barriers, heal ruptures in the relationships, and identify parts of you that might be interfering with the connection.
We name them, claim them, and heal them.
What if we experience...
What if we experience...
Couples frequently come in for the following reasons.
Preventing disconnection
Communication
Help with repairing a rupture
Conflict resolution
Recovering after an affair
Entering a new season of life
Parenting
There are also often times that one or both in the relationship have other layers of experiences that are like a 3rd party in the relationship: such as past trauma, depression, or anxiety. We certainly learn about this and how those things can actually build deeper connections vs. drive disconnection.
Do we really need to come in?
Really, only you know. If you have a hunch to come in then I'd say yes, it's probably worth at least one session.
There are other sources of support and help as well. There are weekend seminars through Gottmans and other programs and ministries. Those can be a great place to start.
Information, self-help, and education are great. In and of themselves―they are often not enough.
I just encourage you to not wait too long, when habits are entrenched. If you already have, there is still plenty of hope for change if you have just enough will, there is a way.
If you are fortunate to access support through a trained therapist, you are enriched
FAQs
- How much will it cost? Each session is $165. At the beginning of therapy, I can give you an educated estimate for the number of sessions, given your situation. If sessions are limited we will focus on the most impactful interventions. There are limited sliding scale slots, and there are some organizations that can sometimes partially scholarship people.
- How often will we need to come in? Once I know your situation I will recommend a frequency of sessions. Sometimes the schedule has more to do with this, but my ideal is to start out with 4-6 consecutive weekly sessions to gain traction. Then we can spread them out from there.
- What if one of us wants to try counseling more than the other? This is not uncommon. It's still worth coming in at least once. Therapy is often not what folks think it is. It can be helpful and a relief to be heard by a trained, unbiased professional. Even in one session progress can be made.