Are you too often stuck in a negative pattern of disconnection? Wondering what happened to your relationship, and how to reconnect and feel love for one another again? With the stress of family, work, and life, many couples find themselves in this situation.

I am passionate about helping couples to explore their challenges and learn to support each other in a warm and caring way. I sincerely believe that we all want to be happy and in a satisfying and loving relationship, we just get stuck in patterned ways of relating that lead us to distress and unhappiness. It is possible to learn to relate differently, and to rekindle the love that has been lost.

Couples often find themselves repeating the same patterns in their relationship over and over again, and find it hard to shift these patterns and relate more harmoniously. By attending to your relationship and these dynamics with a skilled counselor you can learn to recognize and shift the relational patterns that pull you further and further apart, and increase connection, warmth and love. People often lack the necessary skills to navigate even the daily challenges of a relationship and to remain connected to their partner; this is especially true under stress. Many of us did not have very helpful models from our own parents and families for how to be in a healthy relationship.

Counseling can help you to reconnect and safely open up to each other about what you need. These conversations can be so difficult to have on your own. Working with a professional to help navigate these conversations can give you the tools and the support to do this effectively. At the core of all healthy intimate relationships is a safe base where you and your partner feel that you can trust one another. We all long to feel safe, connected, and loved, especially in our most intimate relationships, but they tend to bring up many tender issues. I work from the perspective that we are often affected by deeply held relational patterns and wounds that are carried over from other significant relationships or experiences in our lives. These patterns can cause tension, pain and confusion. Couples counseling involves recognizing and shifting problematic relational patterns in a safe, compassionate, respectful environment and transforming blame and anger into love and connection.

Some of the modalities that I draw from in my work with couples are:

• Sue Johnson’s Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)

• Practical Application of Intimate Relationship Skills (PAIRS)

• John Gottman's extensive research on what makes relationships work