What You Can Expect

Every relationship is different, which is why I tailor the therapy process to your unique goals, context, and lived experience. I use evidence-based approaches that foster emotional connection, deep insight, and meaningful, lasting change.

Each model I incorporate is grounded in research and selected with care, based on what we uncover together in your story and patterns. Below, you’ll find a closer look at the therapeutic frameworks I draw from and how they can support growth and healing in your relationship.

What is Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy?

Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT) helps couples recognize and change unhelpful patterns while also fostering greater understanding and acceptance of each other. It focuses on:

  • Identifying the root of recurring conflicts instead of just surface disagreements

  • Improving emotional connection and reducing reactive arguments

  • Helping couples balance change and acceptance—recognizing what can shift and what requires a new perspective

Unlike traditional approaches that focus primarily on conflict resolution, IBCT also helps partners develop deeper emotional responsiveness, so they feel heard, supported, and understood in their relationship.

    • Recurring arguments that feel unresolved or circular

    • Emotional disconnection, withdrawal, or reactivity

    • Difficulty balancing acceptance of differences with a desire for change

    • Challenges in expressing vulnerability or emotional needs

    • Feeling stuck in unproductive cycles of blame or frustration

    • Improving emotional attunement and conflict repairescription

  • IBCT is designed to help partners move from feeling stuck in conflict to building a more connected, supportive relationship.

    Assessment Phase
    Therapy begins with a structured assessment. Couples meet both together and individually with the therapist to explore relationship history, strengths, concerns, and recurring patterns. The therapist gathers insight into each partner’s perspective and how their interactions contribute to distress. Following the assessment, the therapist provides a summary of key relationship dynamics—highlighting emotional disconnection, unhelpful cycles, and strengths that can support change.

    Treatment Phase
    IBCT focuses on two main components: acceptance and change.

    • Acceptance strategies help partners better understand each other’s emotional needs, reducing defensiveness and frustration.

    • Change strategies involve practical communication and problem-solving tools to improve interactions and deepen connection.

    Over time, couples learn to shift negative cycles and respond to one another in more constructive, emotionally attuned ways.

  • A typical course of IBCT includes 12 to 26 weekly sessions, depending on the couple’s needs and goals.

    • Assessment Phase: 1–3 sessions to explore relationship dynamics and set a treatment plan

    • Treatment Phase: Focused sessions to build emotional acceptance, shift unhelpful patterns, and strengthen connection.

    Therapy is tailored and paced to support meaningful, sustainable change.

What is Cognitive Behavioral Couple Therapy?

Many psychological conditions—like depression, OCD, PTSD, eating disorders, and perinatal depression—are deeply connected to relationship dynamics. When one partner is struggling, both often feel the impact.

Cognitive Behavioral Couple Therapy (CBCT) is a structured, evidence-based approach that addresses both individual mental health concerns and the relationship patterns that may reinforce them. By involving both partners, CBCT helps couples improve communication, reduce stress, and build supportive behaviors that promote healing and satisfaction for both the individual and the relationship.

    • How relationship dynamics contribute to or maintain individual symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, eating disorders)

    • Improving communication about mental health to reduce conflict and misunderstanding

    • Supporting a partner without reinforcing avoidance or reassurance-seeking

    • Strengthening emotional connection to reduce isolation and distress

    • Identifying and shifting unhelpful thought and behavior patterns in both partners

    • Building coping strategies that actively involve both people in the healing process

  • CBCT has proven especially effective for couples where one partner is experiencing depression, PTSD, anxiety, OCD, or chronic stress. Research shows that improving the relationship dynamic can significantly support individual healing and overall life satisfaction.

    Assessment Phase
    The therapist begins by exploring how the individual’s symptoms affect the relationship—and how relational patterns may, in turn, reinforce distress. Each partner’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are considered in relation to both personal well-being and the health of the relationship.

    Feedback & Treatment Planning
    Next, the therapist identifies unhelpful cycles and offers a plan to improve emotional regulation, strengthen supportive behaviors, and modify patterns that contribute to stress or disconnection.

    Treatment Phase
    Couples work together on strategies that support both symptom relief and relational health, including:

    • Cognitive restructuring to address negative or distorted thought patterns

    • Behavioral techniques to encourage healthier interactions and reduce stress

    • Communication skills to express needs and concerns more effectively

    • Problem-solving tools to manage shared challenges

    • Exposure-based methods for conditions like OCD or PTSD where avoidance is common.

  • CBCT typically includes 12 to 20 weekly sessions, tailored to the couple’s needs and progress. It begins with a structured assessment and treatment planning phase, followed by focused work on building relational skills and supporting individual recovery.

What are Brief Relationship Services?

Just like we care for our physical health with regular checkups, our relationships benefit from intentional maintenance and proactive support. Brief interventions and prevention services help couples stay connected, deepen emotional intimacy, and strengthen communication before patterns become problems.

These services are ideal for couples who want to nurture what’s already working, prepare for future transitions, or simply invest in long-term relational health. These sessions offer practical tools and insight to help your relationship thrive now and in the future.

    • We’re in a strong relationship and want to invest in continued growth and connection

    • We believe in prevention and want to address small issues before they become bigger challenges

    • We’re navigating a transition—like parenting, marriage, or relocation—and want to stay aligned

    • We value intentional care and want tools to help our relationship flourish long term

    • We’re looking for structured, evidence-based support that honors both our strengths and goals

    • We’re not sure about couple therapy and a breif intervention feels more doable.

  • Assessment & Feedback
    We begin with a structured assessment to explore strengths and areas of growth, covering topics like communication, conflict resolution, emotional connection, and intimacy. You’ll receive clear feedback report and guidance based on your unique dynamic.

    Skill Building
    Based on your needs, we’ll focus on targeted skills and exercises to improve communication, increase closeness, and support long-term relationship health. Sessions are practical, collaborative, and strength-based.

  • Most couples benefit from 1 to 3 sessions, depending on their goals. Some prefer a one-time consultation, while others opt for a short series of structured sessions. These services are flexible and designed to meet you where you are.

What is a Couple Therapy Intensive

A couples therapy intensive condenses months of relationship work into a focused block of time, often one or two full days, so we can go deeper, faster. Using Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT), we’ll explore the patterns that keep you stuck, strengthen emotional connection, and practice new ways of relating. This format is designed for couples who want significant progress without the drawn-out pace of weekly sessions.

Intensives can be arranged in-person if preferred.

  • An intensive may be right for you if you and your partner:

    • Want to make rapid progress or jump-start stalled therapy

    • Have limited time due to busy schedules or living far away

    • Are facing major transitions or important decisions

    • Need focused support after a relationship crisis

    • Prefer a condensed, immersive experience over weekly meetings

  • Your intensive is tailored to your relationship, but typically includes:

    • A thorough relationship history and assessment using IBCT’s DEEP framework (Differences, Emotional sensitivities, External stressors, Patterns of interaction)

    • Individual pre-intensive interviews with each partner

    • Extended joint sessions to address acceptance, communication, and problem-solving

    • Real-time coaching and practice of new interaction patterns

    • A personalized follow-up plan for continued progress

  • Mini-Intensive – $1,800
    4 hours of focused joint work, ideal for specific goals or follow-up to prior therapy.
    Includes:

    • Pre-intensive questionnaires

    • Two individual 50-minute interviews

    • 4-hour joint session

    • Personalized follow-up plan

    Standard 12-Hour Intensive – $4,500
    12 total hours of joint work, often scheduled over two or more days, best for deeper issues and lasting change.
    Includes:

    • Pre-intensive questionnaires

    • Two individual 50-minute interviews

    • 12 hours of joint work

    • Personalized follow-up plan

    • One 60-minute booster session within 90 days

    • Curated resources for continued progress