Great Couples Counseling in Newcastle, WA. Therapy to heal relationships.

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.

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.

I specialize in working with couples on their relationships issues, and I am certified in a Couples Communication Program. I work with couples on issues such as: Communication Barriers, Intimacy Issues, Restoring Trust, Infidelity Issues (including sex addiction and internet pornography), Developing Healthy Boundaries, and Preparing for Marriage / Premarital Counseling.

Your relationship with your partner is one of the biggest determinants of your overall happiness and wellbeing. I provide integrated Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (attachment style focused) and Gottman Method couples therapy. I am trained and have over a decade of clinical experience in providing couple's therapy. You and your partner will be supported in identifying the patterns in your conflicts, getting confident in creating solutions to old unresolved issues or injuries, and making sustained connection a part of your relationship. Living resentment-free and moving past old hurts is possible. I also provide pre-marital sessions for couples preparing to get married.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Every couple is unique- what works for some, does not work for all. In a nonjudgmental and non-pathologizing space, I help couples of all kinds to create the relationship that will meet both partner's needs. Through thoughtful, heartfelt and insightful discussions, we will arrive together at the model that works best for you and your relationship, and together we can resolve old wounds to help you come together again to support one another with love and kindness.

As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), I have extensive training and experience helping couples navigate some of the most painful and difficult chapters of their relationships. My approach is both compassionate and practical, shaped by years of walking with couples across the country as they work through challenges of trust, intimacy, and communication. I have also been featured in leading outlets such as Forbes, The Knot, Women’s Health, Yahoo, Self, Glamour, and AARP for my insights on relationships, intimacy, and communication. Whether you are facing ongoing conflict, a loss of closeness, or the aftermath of betrayal, I would be honored to meet with you and your partner.

Having a third party present can make it much easier to talk about what is troubling your relationship without descending into fighting or avoidance. In a supportive environment, your therapist will help you understand how your history as individuals as well as a couple is contributing to your current disconnection, breaches of trust, lack of intimacy, and inability to communicate and reach workable agreements. Learn skills to better understand and respect one another, be able to reach toward each other for love and support, have fulfilling experiences of intimacy and connection, and create a life that represents each of you and both of you.

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.

I deeply appreciate working with couples. Discovering the gifts and teachings you have for each other, supporting the deep love that is so often part of the pain between you, deepening the continuing journey of more authentic awareness of each other, and even working to let go of a relationship that no longer serves you is often magical. We explore the patterns that support and undermine your relationship, the constructs of belief, habit, and expectation that these hold in place, the ways to shift your part in them, and what is core to those fights about "stupid things". Working with how you communicate and moving you away from blame and shame builds a foundation for relational healing.