Couples Therapy

Aging, the birth and growth of children, crises, deaths, and other life changes require that people in relationships revisit and sometimes re-negotiate the terms of their commitment. Most couples face these challenges successfully without a therapist, but occasionally couples gets stuck, overwhelmed, or feel hopeless figuring out what to do. Therapy is useful to couples who are interested in an outside, seasoned perspective and the strategies a professional can bring to help them hear each other differently.

I help couples and families. I like to focus on how psychological challenges evolve within interpersonal systems.

One of the draws to couples therapy for me is the chance to provide an affirmative, strengths-based, sex-positive, reflective space for couples who want to work on their relationships or contemplate serious marital transition. I help couples explore ways of maintaining, invigorating, and re-inventing their partnerships across the lifespan to allow both individuals to thrive. I work with same-sex, heterosexual, and mixed orientation couples.

My framework as a therapist has a strong grounding in interpersonal neurobiology and the science of resilience. The essential message of interpersonal neurobiology is:

• Our brains and nervous systems are tribal.
• We have a deep need for connection to other people (and other people are the greatest threats we experience).
• Our brains evolve and heal through meaningful bonds to others.

I believe people can navigate challenging, sometimes emotionally fraught, terrain as a couple more harmoniously when they understand their own brain-heart-gut dialogue and the ways it plays out in relationship.

My office is located in Portland, Oregon, in the lovely Buckman neighborhood near Revolution Hall. In a close-in, residential neighborhood just blocks south of East Burnside, ten minutes from downtown, parking is convenient.