Great Couples Counseling in Newport Beach, CA. Therapy to heal relationships.

My doctoral research was on the difference between intense/compelling & secure/comfortable romantic love experiences and I have been studying love for the past 35 years. I taught the Interpersonal Attraction/Romantic Love course at Chapman University, along with Human Sexuality & Sexual Disorders & Treatment. I am certified in Gottman Method Couples therapy, as an ASL (Gottman) Workshop Leader, and a Gottman Method Level I Teacher. I also have trained in Emotion-Focused, Imago, and Voice Dialogue approaches to give couples in relationships of all kinds the best help available in making troubled relationships good and good relationships even better.

In my Couples Counseling work I help partners build on the strengths of their relationship while we work together to create new skills for communicating and solving problems. My approach is collaborative and I teach each partner to learn how to listen and hear what the other is expressing and needing as well as ways to be heard and understood better. I provide a safe place where difficult problems can be discussed and solutions explored and practiced so that couples can better resolve ongoing problems.

Without conflict, couples do not achieve intimacy. The challenge is helping you and your partner learn how to have healthy conflict that leads to intimacy, rather than destructive conflict that destroys the relationship. While I work with all couples, I specialize in working with neuro-diverse couples. I usually start with helping you learn ground rules for being able to have safe, constructive, healthy conflict to reduce and eliminate destructive relational patterns. I also use Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) to help you reconnect, learn healthy communication skills, rekindle the flame that you once had, and start talking to each other again. If you are willing to work, I am here for you!

Why do we seem to have the same arguments over and over again? How do I know if we are really supposed to be together? Are there things we could be doing to better support each other, to help each other grow and be our best selves? If we really love each other, why do we so often hurt each other? How do I know if this is real love, anyway? Relationships are hard. Even more than desire, they require effort and understanding to make them work. Often, even if two people really love each other, one or both may need help to maintain the right effort or understanding to keep the balance necessary for long-term success. Having outside, objective support can make all the difference.

Are you and your partner constantly in conflict? Do you find that an argument about a seemingly silly issue often escalates into a full-blown fight? Are you tired of leading two separate lives? Do your differing views on money, sex and life feel insurmountable? Couples therapy can help. No matter what the issue, relationship counseling should not be about partner bashing. Couples therapy provides a safe place for you and your partner to improve communication and decrease reactivity. Couples therapy can help you reconnect with your partner and help you discover how to choose each other first. Call for a free phone consultation today.

Conflict and discord often are a factor of poor communication and feelings that both partners must agree in order to be compatible. This kind of thinking can result in angry standoffs that lead to a feeling that in order for one to win the their must lose. I teach couples how to communicate and understand that difference in needs does not mean incompatibility. Working towards win-win solutions can enhance your marital satisfaction and increase intimacy. I enjoy working with couples and have a good success rate. Let me help you find happiness in your marriage.

Communication skills are often the core source of the problem that couples experience. I help couples communicate more honestly and in a less stressful way so that they can grow together toward a better stronger partnership. I work with couples psycho-dynamically to get at the core source of their problems and help them build trust and friendship.

Even the best couples have long-term issues that they disagree about. Without communication, it is hard for even the most loving couples to last. I help couples take their conversations further in my office than they do at home. Eventually, you will learn to do it by yourself at home. I help couples learn to approach difficult subjects, discuss and resolve them. I help identifying hot spots, get more comfortable ways to communicate about them, learn to be more sensitive to each other, and perhaps more importantly, find your way through these conflicts so you can get on with the more satisfying, happy and enjoyable aspects of your lives together.

Couples therapy combines techniques from the Gottman Method and Emotionally Focused Therapy. After gathering a comprehensive history about your relationship, we will specify goals and work to build strong emotional alliances. The goal is to help lead you to a deeper understanding of each other, and then move toward more effective problem solving and accountability for communicating your needs within the relationship.

Marriage counseling can be the best thing you can do for your relationship, whether you’re having marriage problems or not. Either way, the skills learned in marriage counseling can help you find happiness and satisfaction with your spouse. If you are having significant problems, and you want marriage counseling to work, you need to be willing to put everything into it. You cannot shut down and refuse to participate because you “already made your decision.” Give your marriage a chance. Give yourself and your spouse a chance to be happy. I have helped many couples, and I have found that the majority of them benefit from the therapy and gain happier marriages. Unfortunately, many couples wait ye....

Couples come in all sorts of configurations, from Mommy/baby, to employer/employee, to parent/child/adoles. and of course husbands/partners/wives. Each of these couples are tremendously intimate and are often the very place we act out, feel grave disappointments and experiences some of our highest joys. This can be an optimum place of growth for both participants. It takes courage, honesty and a willingness to look inward and outward.

Practice communication skills to powerfully begin resolving those angry and blaming arguments. Write brief notes about what was said and have expert training to show your partner the love you feel and need. Learn how to express disagreements as well as affection that can transform your relationship. Find how to identify and manage the emotional baggage you are bringing to each other.