Couples/Intimate Partnerships

For partners who care about each other, but keep getting pulled into the same cycle.

You and your partner love each other, but you want something better than “fine.” Maybe the relationship works on paper, but underneath it feels tense, distant, or repetitive. Maybe it only takes a few moments before you can feel where a conversation is headed, and it rarely feels like where you want to end up. Often, the pattern might look something like this:

One of you reaches for more closeness through talking, endless questions, or pushing for resolution. The other feels overwhelmed, pulls away, gets defensive, or shuts down.

Underneath that cycle, both of you are usually longing to feel connected, safe, and understood.

In couples therapy, we slow the pattern down and help you understand what's happening beneath the reactions. Using an attachment-based and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) approach, we work to shift the cycle rather than blame each other.

Together, we may:

• identify the pursue-withdraw cycle or other repeating dynamics

• understand the emotions, fears, and needs underneath conflict

• communicate in ways that feel clearer and safer

• reduce defensiveness and escalation

• strengthen repair after conflict

• build emotional responsiveness and trust

• create a relationship that feels more secure, connected, and alive

My couples work is best suited for partners who want to participate, reflect, and practice new ways of relating together.