COUPLES THERAPY
Most couples have at least one sticking point in their relationship where communication, safety, and connection break down.
These sticking points can lead to feelings of frustration, loneliness, and disconnection.
In couples therapy, we work together to identify and break free from these patterns by facilitating open communication of emotions and needs in a way that nurtures both connection and safety.
I offer support in these areas:
Life/ Relationship Transitions
Reducing Conflict
Communication
Repairing Relationship Injuries like infidelity
In healthy relationships, emotional connection isn't just desired, it's essential.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for Couples
I use a method called Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), which highlights our deep need for connection and close relationships throughout our lives. However, couples often fall into a rigid cycle of interacting that blocks their innate need for both connection and safety.
In EFT, we start by understanding this cycle of disconnection and work together to communicate the emotions and needs that underlie it in a way that fosters both connection and safety.
By addressing these patterns, you can learn to trust each other more, be more open, and know how to reach out to one another when needed.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Week 1: Intake Session
80 minutes
During our first session together, it is important to review paperwork so that we all have a clear understanding of the nature of therapy, including my ethical and legal responsibilities as your therapist and your rights as clients.
After that, we get to begin our work together. I like to start by getting a history of your relationship. This includes, how you met, what makes your relationship special and beautiful, as well as an overview of challenges you have faced together.
Naturally, this will flow into what brings you into therapy and what you would like your relationship to look like going forward.
Throughout the first session, we’ll begin to create a rough outline of what your relationship stuck points are and your recurring interactional patterns.
Week 2: Individuals Sessions
50 minutes each
During the second week of our work together, I like to meet with partners individually. This allows me to get a sense for who each of you are and what you bring into the relationship.
At this time, we’ll delve into your attachment history. This includes a brief exploration of your upbringing, such as who your primary attachment figures were and what that environment was like.
As part in a comprehensive assessment, it’s also important for me to know of any trauma that has occurred in your past and how it has affected you.
Finally, I’d like to understand what your individual desires are for the relationship.
The Working Sessions
After completing the assessment phase of therapy, we’ll move to the working phase. Here, we’ll outline the painful interaction pattern trapping your relationship and identify the unacknowledged emotions and needs of each partner.
Our sessions will facilitate the vulnerable expression of these emotions and needs to each other. Through acceptance and understanding of each other’s experiences, your bond can be deepened and strengthened.
This approach enables couples to escape painful interaction patterns and openly and vulnerably discover new solutions to old problems.
SPECIALTIES
Communication & Conflict
Struggling with communication in your relationship can lead to feelings of isolation, heartbreak, and frustration. In couple’s therapy, we’ll explore these challenges to bridge the communication gap and rebuild emotional intimacy.
Our sessions will delve into the core emotions and thoughts of each partner, fostering vulnerability and authenticity.
Together, we can pave the way for healthier, more meaningful communication patterns that strengthen the foundation of your relationship.
Transitions
Many couples find themselves getting stuck in repetitive cycles of disconnection and miscommunication. These cycles make themselves particularly apparent when we deepen a relationship or experience relationship transitions like moving in together, merging finances, or getting engaged.
Couples therapy, is a safe space to explore the relationship patterns, thoughts, and emotions that have developed in the relationship and left you feeling anxious, lonely, or isolated.
Through couples therapy, you and your relationship can begin to heal and continue your growth.
Injury Repair
Whether a rupture stemmed from unmet emotional needs, unresolved conflicts, or a sense of disconnection, the impact can be profound, leaving partners grappling with feelings of betrayal, mistrust, and despair.
In couples therapy, we create a supportive environment to delve into the complexities surrounding infidelity, exploring its roots and the emotional toll it has taken on both individuals.
By fostering open and honest dialogue, we work towards rebuilding trust, restoring intimacy, and ultimately, facilitating the healing process for the relationship to thrive once more.
Intimacy & Sex Therapy
Nearly every relationship experiences intimacy concerns at some point. Experiences like pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, exhaustion, stress, body image, and aging can impact your sex life, leaving you feeling guilty, ashamed, or hopeless.
Couples therapy includes the exploration of of your sex and intimacy concerns as well as how these concerns have impacted your relationship.
I aim to make couples therapy a place where you can feel safe to discuss sexual issues, so that you can regain connection.
MORE ABOUT EFT
“Learning to love and be loved is, in effect, about learning to tune into our emotions so that we know what we need from our partner and expressing those desires openly.”
— Sue Johnson