Couples

When couples come to therapy, it's for a variety of reasons. I especially enjoy treating cross-cultural couples, and those who are newly engaged and want a strong foundation. It's never too early or too late to get started. I will meet you right where you are in your relationship. 

I've been married for 25 years so I know from both personal and professional experience that it's a journey of daily choices. In therapy, I give couples strategies to take home so they can practice small steps that accumulate to make positive changes.

I help couples by using a combination of evidence-based practices including solution-focused and emotionally-focused therapies within a framework of The Gottman Method. This approach is based on years of research into what makes marriages work well. Rather than taking sides, I will help the two of you find middle ground because that's where the healing can happen. For pre-married couples, I'm also a certified Prepare/Enrich facilitator.

Whether you've lost the spark of sexual connection, or are just having difficulties talking about sex, there is hope. After over 36 hours of training in human sexuality and commensurate clinical experience, I am comfortable discussing as much or as little as you two want. In the Christian community, especially, many clients find that this topic is either unaddressed or done so in a way that is super unhelpful. 

The first steps are often about finding new ways for you to communicate outside the bedroom so you can connect or (re-connect).  Along the way, we'll also work on replacing unhelpful social messages with healthier alternatives, so that you two can build (or re-build) fondness & admiration for one another. By discovering your overlapping goals, you might be surprised at how much you both want the same things.

 If you have children (from toddlers to teens), then you know how hard it is to raise kids in a consistent way, healthy way. Sometimes parents hover too much and other times they're too harsh. I can help you find balance  with strategies that actually work.  

Using techniques from Love and Logic parenting, we'll work on how to combine empathy with healthy boundaries.  You may find that besides being an effective style of relating to your kids, it can also help your relationship by being 'on the same page' together.