Couples

How I Work With Couples

I specialize in working with couples. Couples come to see me for all kinds of reasons. Chances are, if you’re reading this, your relationship is at a low point. The relationship that used to be hopeful, fulfilling and fun feels nothing like it once did. You’re likely feeling discourged, frustrated, depressed, angry, or even desperate about it. I understand that impasses have a way of feeling impossible to resolve. However, with the help of a therapist, many couples find that their impasses can actually lead to renewed closeness and a deepening of their love for one another.

My work with you and your partner can be both long- or short-term, depending on the nature of problem(s) needing attention. In my work with couples, I focus on communication patterns, dysfunctional dynamics, and issues related to sex. I believe a couple’s sex life can often reflect the larger dynamics in a relationship and are important to talk about openly, i.e. not to be delegated to a “sex therapist,” as sometimes assumed by clients and therapists. I will help you to understand the issues, or “baggage” that each of you bring to the relationship in a safe and confidential environment. I will give you my honest feedback about what I see and tools to change what’s not working.

The intention of staying together is not a prerequisite for starting therapy. I see couples who want help in order to stay together and couples that aren’t so sure and hope that seeing a therapist will help them decide whether or not to continue the relationship.

As an LGBTQ friendly therapist, same-sex couples can benefit from my expertise in addressing the issues common to all couples — communication, intimacy, money, family planning — when they are further complicated by homophobia, heterosexism, and lack of the legal protections and advantages of marriage. I have a special interest helping gay and lesbian couples in the process of starting a family.

Couples that I see come to me for help with:

-communication problems

-feelings of dissatisfaction

-sex and intimacy issues

-past or current affairs

-pre-marital counseling

-family planning, including adoption and donor insemination

-fighting and emotional withdrawal

-emotional and spiritual disconnection

I welcome a phone call to talk about whether or not I may suit your particular needs. If, for whatever reason, you or I decide that I am not the right therapist for you, I will offer you some referrals to therapists that may be better able to help you. I want you to get the help you’re looking for.