Our brains really are wired for connection. It’s a beautiful thing, and it also makes disconnection so painful. My belief in the power of healthy connection and extensive background in the neuroscience of attachment has led me to specialize in working with couples and individuals on relational issues. Whether you feel disconnected from yourself or a partner because of trauma, betrayal, anxiety, or other struggles, I start treatment from the same foundation – all behavior makes sense in context. Simply put, you are doing the best you can with what you know, even if it’s not the way you want to show up. Starting from that perspective can help unravel the shame associated with patterns you find yourself stuck in with a partner or with yourself. 

My couples’ counseling approach endeavors to help partners make sense to each other again, or maybe for the first time. You know you love this person; you want to reach for connection, but then you get stuck in the same fight or saying the very thing you don’t mean and told yourself you wouldn’t say. Or perhaps you don’t talk much at all. Your disconnection may have built up gradually over months of misunderstanding and conflict, or maybe you are feeling the impact of hurt or betrayal. Either way, my extensive training in sex therapy and in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples can help rebuild intimacy and trust. I will focus on helping you re-connect by exploring patterns of interaction, building awareness of dynamics between you, and shifting to communication that aligns more with how you want to show up during hard moments. This helps both of you feel truly seen and heard.

When I work with individual clients on relational issues, we build an understanding of the way attachment disruptions like abuse or mistreatment (past or present) is impacting you, whether from a parent, past or current partner, or a high control group or religion that has caused trauma. I am a Certified Narcissistic Abuse Treatment Clinician (NACT) but also work with individuals whose mistreatment or abuse came from other sources, short-lived or long-term. Whether you call it trauma or view its impact on you differently, the fallout of these experiences can leave you feeling anxious, depressed, untrusting, and always on guard, believing that you are flawed or unworthy of love and connection. The part of you that believes it’s not your fault and that you are enough might be silenced by the negative way you talk to yourself or the doubts that fill your head. I have training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT), all of which can be helpful in supporting your ability to move forward with self-trust and the confidence to live your values out loud.

You deserve to treat yourself, treat others, and be treated with respect and dignity. Whatever is getting in the way of that, my goal is to meet you with empathy that fosters repair and healing. My lifelong love of books, science, and language has instilled an unshakable belief that guides my work: the words we speak to ourselves and to each other are powerful. Therapy can help harness the power of words to reshape the way you see yourself, your partner, and your world. You are a whole person with a story worth telling, and we can work together to rewrite a story that feels authentic and empowering.