RELATIONSHIPS & COUPLES THERAPY
Whether you’re navigating conflict, healing from betrayal, or longing for deeper connection, being in a relationship can feel overwhelming and exhausting at times. I use Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) with couples, and I offer EFT therapy in Encino and Los Angeles, with online sessions available across California. In a safe, collaborative space, we’ll strengthen communication, rebuild trust, and help you feel understood and connected again.
Couples & Relationship Counseling
Relationships are one of the most meaningful parts of our lives — and also one of the most complex. Even strong relationships can go through periods of tension, distance, conflict, or uncertainty about the future.
You might be struggling with:
communication that turns into conflict or shut-down
feeling distant, unseen, or unappreciated
rebuilding trust after a breach or betrayal
differences in needs around intimacy, affection, or sex
navigating life transitions together
uncertainty about whether to stay or leave
feeling more like “roommates” than partners
How I Work With Couples
I draw from Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Gottman Method Couples Therapy to guide our work together.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) helps you identify the deeper emotions and attachment needs beneath conflict so you can reconnect rather than getting pulled back into the same argument cycles.
Gottman-informed interventions provide practical tools to improve communication, reduce criticism and defensiveness, and strengthen friendship, intimacy, and partnership.
Rather than focusing on who is “the problem,” we look together at the pattern between you — how each of you gets pulled into cycles of distance, criticism, withdrawal, or escalation. The goal is to help both partners feel heard, safer, and more connected, while developing skills you can use outside of therapy.
Premarital Counseling in Los Angeles
Premarital counseling in Los Angeles focuses on helping couples strengthen emotional connection, improve communication skills, and understand each other’s attachment patterns. Using Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), we explore how you each respond to stress, closeness, and conflict — and how to create a secure bond that supports both partners.
Common areas we address include:
Communication and conflict resolution
Financial expectations and shared goals
Family dynamics and boundaries
Intimacy and emotional connection
Navigating life transitions together
Premarital counseling isn’t only for couples in crisis. Many engaged couples seek therapy proactively to build trust, clarify values, and feel confident entering marriage with greater understanding and security.
Whether you are newly engaged or preparing for a long-term commitment, premarital counseling in Encino or Los Angeles can help you strengthen your relationship before you say “I do.”
Other Relationship Struggles I Support
Dating and Relationship Anxiety
You may find yourself overthinking, worrying about being “too much” or “not enough,” or feeling anxious when someone pulls away or gets closer. Together we can explore attachment patterns, build self-trust, and help dating feel less overwhelming and more grounded.
Healing After Breakups
Whether the breakup was recent or years ago, the grief can be real and lingering. Therapy can help you process the loss, make sense of the relationship, and reconnect with yourself as you move forward.
Family Relationship Stress
Family dynamics can be complicated, even in adulthood. We may work on navigating conflict, feeling dismissed or misunderstood, managing cultural or generational differences, or staying connected while caring for your own well-being.
Boundary-setting with Parents or Adult Children
It can be hard to know where to draw the line between love, responsibility, and self-respect. In therapy, we can clarify what healthy boundaries look like for you, practice language to express them, and process the emotions that come up when you set them.
Friendship Changes or Conflict
When friendships shift, fade, or rupture, it can bring up grief, insecurity, and confusion. We can explore what you need in friendships now, how to navigate conflict, and how to create connections that feel mutual and supportive.
Patterns that Repeat Across Relationships
You may notice that you keep ending up in similar dynamics — feeling unseen, over-functioning, avoiding conflict, or becoming anxious when closeness increases. Together, we’ll gently identify these patterns, understand where they come from, and support you in creating new ways of relating.
Long-Distance Relationships
Being in a long-distance relationship can bring a unique mix of closeness and strain. Without regular in-person connection, misunderstandings can feel amplified, and loneliness or uncertainty about the future may grow. You might find yourself overthinking communication, worrying about trust, or feeling disconnected despite caring deeply for one another. In therapy, we can focus on strengthening communication across distance, navigating insecurity or jealousy, clarifying shared expectations, and building a sense of emotional closeness even when you’re apart.
Whether you are single, partnered, or unsure of where your relationship stands, therapy can help you understand your patterns, strengthen your voice, and create relationships that feel healthier and more aligned with your values.
I’m currently accepting new clients for individual and couples therapy in Encino and Los Angeles, with online sessions available across California.