Couples Counseling

Couples counseling is about finding new ways of communicating with each other, standing on our own strong within relationships, and also leaning on each other to support each other towards our goals. Often value conflicts, life transitions, and the ways we communicate to each other can get in the way of the bond and relationship we desire. I focus on integrating the Gottman method into my work with couples to help them identify areas in their relationship that can grow. 

Couples counseling is about wellness and growth. I believe that a wide range of people in long-term relationships can benefit from couples counseling. I also understand that couples counseling is often a last effort to right the ship before it sinks. In either situation we can work together as a team to better understand ourselves and who we are in relationship to others. 

The primary lens I use to view couples is through the Gottman method and I have been trained in the Gottman Method Level I. The Gottman method has been researched and shown to be effective in helping repair and grow relationships. The Gottman method addresses the four horsemen of a struggling relationship including criticism, defensiveness, contempt, and stonewalling to provide antidotes to heal the relationship. The Gottman method also looks at how we can approach conflict in a healthy way, and how we can use our value differences and similarities to create a shared vision of the future. 

Relationship trouble and mental health struggles often involve feedback cycles that grow over time. Together we can identify these harmful and painful cycles and the actions we can take to create new cycles of connection, love, and meaning.