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. My focus is on how challenges evolve in dynamic, 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, including those in unconventional marital arrangements.

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 brain is tribal.
• We have a deep need for connection to other people.
• Our brains evolve 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.