Therapy for Couples
Finding your way back to each other.
Most couples don't get stuck because they don't love each other. They get stuck in patterns that become increasingly difficult to step out of.
You may find yourselves having the same argument over and over, feeling increasingly distant, struggling to communicate, or longing for a sense of closeness that seems harder to find. Sometimes one partner pursues while the other withdraws. Sometimes both partners become defensive, angry, critical, or shut down. Over time, these patterns can leave both people feeling lonely and misunderstood.
Couples therapy can help you understand the cycle you have become caught in and begin creating something different together.
EFT Couples Therapy in Seattle
My couples work is grounded in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), an evidence-based approach that understands relationship distress through the lens of attachment and emotional connection.
EFT helps couples identify the underlying cycle that keeps them stuck. Beneath anger, criticism, defensiveness, or withdrawal there are often more vulnerable emotions and deeper needs: Do I matter to you? Can I count on you? Are you really there for me?
Together, we will slow down these patterns and begin to understand what is happening underneath them. The goal of this work is to create greater emotional safety, responsiveness, and connection. I offer EFT couples therapy in Seattle from my Queen Anne office, as well as secure telehealth throughout Washington.
Couples come to therapy for many reasons
I work with couples navigating:
Recurring conflict and communication difficulties
Emotional distance or disconnection
Differences in needs for closeness and independence
Intimacy and sexual concerns
Trust and relationship ruptures
Major life transitions
Parenting and family-of-origin challenges
Premarital concerns and preparation for marriage
Patterns that feel impossible to break on your own
I approach couples therapy with warmth, curiosity, and compassion for both partners. I believe that relationship struggles rarely come down to one person being the problem; instead, couples can become caught in patterns that make it difficult for either person to feel heard, understood, or secure. My role is to help you slow those patterns down, understand what is happening beneath them, and create space for each partner's experience. I draw from attachment-based and systemic approaches, with the belief that meaningful change happens not only through understanding your relationship differently, but through experiencing one another differently in the therapy room.
My approach
Our work together
In therapy we may explore:
The recurring cycle that leaves you feeling disconnected
The underlying emotions and attachment needs beneath conflict
How past experiences shape the way each of you responds in the relationship
Patterns of pursuing, withdrawing, criticizing, defending, or shutting down
Difficult conversations that have become increasingly painful or impossible to have
How to express vulnerable emotions and needs in ways your partner can hear
How to become more emotionally responsive and available to one another
How to rebuild connection after periods of distance, hurt, or disconnection
Fees
My rate for couples therapy is $175 for a 50-minute session. Couples therapy often benefits from additional time to slow down and work through difficult patterns, so I also offer 80-minute sessions for $280, at the same hourly rate.