COUPLES
Build secure-functioning partner and marital relationships, eliminate threat, and increase win-win connections through better communication and deeper intimacy! Repair disagreements and ruptures quickly by learning how to help to regulate and sooth yourself and your partner.
Couples counseling in my private practice is based on the work of Dr. Stan Tatkin and the Psycho-neurobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT) method. PACT focuses on three things: 1) how our brains and physiology function in relationship to danger, seek security, and thrive on mutuality, 2) how our early family of origin attachment bonds impact our adult relationships, and 3) how to manage the arousal levels for our self and our partner.
By remaining present and attuned to you and your partner's needs, key issues are assessed and reparative experiences take place with attention to developmental neuroscience, underlying relational issues, and arousal regulation.
PACT tends to require fewer sessions than other couples therapy approaches. Sessions are usually 90-minutes and can go 3-hours depending on the couple and the issues being addressed. Longer sessions allow us to accomplish significant pieces of foundational relationship work in each meeting and leave with a renewed sense of connection and understanding of the path forward.
TEENS
As a licensed therapist for the past 14 years, I have counseled youth ages of 9-19 and their families in schools, community mental health, and now in private practice specializing in working with adolescent males--helping to resolve family conflict, adjust to changes and relationships, understand developmental stages, and discover the happiness in life.
In our fast-paced media-driven culture, self-conscious teens are faced with the daunting task of sorting through and balancing family, school, and social concerns, all without the benefit of the experience and judgment that adults have.
Working with a trained psychotherapist to help negotiate the often precarious developmental path towards adulthood can add grace and ease to the process.
I thrive on connecting and building trust with tweens and teens to truly understand and help them grow in their relationships with friends and family. Developing a healthy identity and coping skills while building self-knowledge, productive motivations, and a positive self-esteem is unique to each individual and an art that requires heart-centered listening, positive regard, expertise, and empowering coaching skills.
Helping parents to manage, rebuild, and maintain strong relationships with their rapidly changing and developing teenagers requires similar empathy, as well as a depth of clinical and practical experience. And, sometimes parents just need an outlet to vent, reflect and gain perspective on their roles, tough decisions, and/or the challenges at hand.
Through it all, I have the privilege of getting to know many wonderful boys, girls, parents, and families while helping manage through tough times, heal relationships, and find renewed success. I look forward to working with you and your family!