Great Couples Counseling in Bryn Mawr Skyway, WA. Therapy to heal relationships.

There are countless models of healthy romantic relationships, from monogamous to polyamorous, and unique variations between partners. The scripts for dating and longterm relationships of our parents’ generations may not be applicable to your relationship, and there is no formal education in how to be a good partner or how to identify unhealthy relationships. But there is psychological research that shows that effective communication, emotional openness, intimacy, and other factors contribute to healthy relationships. Creating these conditions are skills that can be learned. I practice brief humanistic and emotion-focused therapy (EFT) to help my LGBTQ and hetero clients learn these skills.

Healthy relationships are central to our well-being in life. Couples in distress are stuck in unproductive patterns that overshadow the love that brought you together. Couples counseling is neutral ground to deal with challenges, from infidelity to finances. Our time together will help you develop communication skills, solve problems, and improve intimacy. I use Emotionally Focused Therapy and Gottman techniques to help you repair and restore attachment bonds in your primary partnership.

Our work together encourages open and honest relating • increases listening without judgement and speaking without anger • decreases fighting, bickering and cold shoulders • enhances intimacy, sexuality and satisfaction • dissolves hurtful and dysfunctional patterns of behavior. The process is available to anyone willing to invest time and energy. All that is required is an open mind.

Relationships are difficult and many relationships can be healed if given the opportunity. I believe in addressing core issues in a relationship that address the couple itself. Why is the couple acting in this cycle and what can I do to help you identify your cycle and find a healthy way of interacting. I draw much of my work from Dr. John Gottman's research on healthy relationships and am not afraid of giving frank feedback when I feel couples are being verbally or emotionally abusive to each other. I believe in setting clear boundaries so couples learn to fight fairly so both sides can communicate their needs with each other without feeling shamed, degraded, or criticized.

My approach to couples counseling and marriage counseling is active, compassionate, and focused on helping both partners stay connected to calm, curiosity, and compassion for themselves and each other. When couples can maintain access to these qualities, even in the middle of conflict, they are far more able to understand the deeper feelings and patterns driving their reactions. I help partners interrupt long held dynamics, communicate more clearly, and respond with greater openness and care. By reducing reactivity and restoring positive feelings toward one another, couples can often heal old wounds, strengthen connection, and reignite love, kindness, and trust in the relationship.

Do you or your partner suffer from social anxiety and it's affecting your relationship? Social anxiety is a fear of negative judgment from others and it can lead to reduced levels of intimacy, suppressed emotions, feelings of isolation and loneliness and lack of communication. If one or both of you feels anxious socially, your relationship may be suffering too. Contact me for ways in which you can move past social anxiety to a fuller, intimate, richer, relaxed more authentic relationship.

The couple relationship is a dynamic, challenging landscape that requires communication, understanding, and commitment to navigate. Whether you are looking to improve an already healthy relationship or confronting painful issues that have led you to the brink of divorce, I can work with you and your partner to find the most growth and healing possible in your situation.

You don't have to be on the brink of break up to get guidance from a professional; it takes consistent effort to maintain a healthy relationship, and it's normal to feel a bit lost when pinpointing exactly how to do that. Therapy provides a safe, responsive place to discuss issues and concerns. Our therapists help couples develop healthier means of relating, use effective tools in communication & restructure a strong foundation for their relationship to flourish.

You may feel like your marriage is a sinking boat. You also might be very fulfilled in your relationship and you can't help but feeling something in the way you and your spouse relate just doesn't work. So many marriages languish, two people who are legally married, but have begun relationally separating long ago. Our work together will pay attention to the difficulties you have together while also building on the strengths you already have. We will look into communication patterns, relational styles, your individual and collective stories. Whether it is an emergency or a nagging feeling or somewhere in the middle your marriage is worth the care and the work it takes to thrive together.

Couples come with all sorts of problems. Maybe there's no sex in your life (or not enough). Maybe there's been infidelity (or one or both of you is considering it or suspecting it). Maybe you find it difficult to talk with one another. Maybe it's in-laws or your partner's friends that don't quite mesh well with you. Regardless of what the problem is, I can help you reignite the passion in your life for one another. Come talk to me.

When we choose a partner in life we hope for good times shared together--and to have someone to lean on and mutually support through the tough times. That's why it's so deeply painful when your relationship is strained or broken. Our counselors at Mill Creek Family Services help you get to the heart of the matter and rebuild the relationship you desire. Through the counseling process you find that you're communicating more effectively, resolving conflicts much more quickly, and deepening the love and fulfillment that first brought you together.

You can be happy in your relationship. We can help! Being a couple can be hard these days and couples counseling is very helpful in solving relationship problems, teaching positive and effective communication, encouraging intimacy and healthy connections with each other, recognizing and stopping destructive relationship behaviors, and promoting understanding, love, acceptance, and compassion for each other and yourselves. Being a couple takes knowledge, skill, and practice. It takes a willingness to be open and learn new ways of talking with and seeing your partner. For most people change is possible. We can guide you on this journey of discovery and growth.

Communication problems are listed as the number one reason why couples come into my office. Learning effective communication, how to love and be loved, how to cherish a relationship and enjoy one another, are areas I help couples with. We give love like we like to receive it. Not everyone likes to receive it the same way. Finding out your love language and your partners can make a huge difference in your relationship.