Work toward a relationship dynamic characterized by empathy, acceptance, and mutual effort.
Couples and Premarital Therapy
Couples therapy at my Arlington, VA office location, and/or online in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and 40 other states.
Investing in the growth and health of a relationship requires ongoing and intentional mutual effort.
From our very first fairytales to what we see in movies, books, TV, and social media, we are long taught that relationships are amazing and wonderful - and they sure can be.
What our education often leaves out is the hard work and struggle it can take to get them running more smoothly, as well as the ongoing care and regular maintenance they need to be fulfilling.
Love begins as a feeling. To endure, it must evolve into choice and action.
Despite all the rewards and happiness that can come with relationships, they can also be messy and complex. We long to be loved, appreciated, seen, and accepted by our partners, and yet we also fear being rejected, abandoned, engulfed, or judged.
You might be having disagreements about chores, travel, extended family, childcare, finances, or sex. Or perhaps you are grappling with important decisions like when to get married, what your partnership should look like, where to live, or whether to have children. You could be dealing with the aftermath of infidelity or betrayal.
Relationship challenges may also be magnified by a history of anxiety, depression, substance abuse, attention deficits, trauma, or stress in one or both partners.
While great deal of pain can show up in moments of disconnection, disappointment, or resentment, it doesn’t necessarily mean the relationship is doomed.
Couples therapy can help you respond more effectively to the tough times, so that the hard parts become a part of a strengthened bond and more resilient relationship.
WHAT WE’LL DO TOGETHER
Couples therapy can help you:
Improve communication
Reduce conflict
Build trust
Break cycles of negative interaction
Restore or deepen emotional and sexual intimacy
Find the right balance between being an I and being a we
I also provide Pre-Marital Therapy where couples can explore important topics, hopes, and challenges using a semi-structured approach designed to promote foundational communication, connection, conflict management skills, and collaborative envisioning.
WHAT WE’LL DO TOGETHER
Premarital therapy topics include:
Creating a love that can grow over time
Communication
Skills for reducing and preventing conflict
Sex and intimacy
Family
Finances
Envisioning roles and pursuing shared dreams
Values
“Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction.”
— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Couples seeking therapy may worry about the therapist taking sides as they allow a third party into the complex dynamics of their relationship. However, a competent therapist can help couples reconnect, open communication, and foster empathy, understanding, intimacy, and harmony.
When I meet with a couple initially, I focus on understanding their relationship concerns, establishing goals for therapy, and assessing whether there is a good therapist-client fit.
My therapeutic approach integrates research-supported couples treatments, including Integrative Behavioral Couples Therapy (IBCT), Schema-Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for couples, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and the Gottman Method.
I work with couples of all ages and genders. I welcome all, including LGBTQIA+ couples.