• Are you preparing for a major relationship change (e.g., engaged, expecting a child, a major move).
• Do you feel things stagnating (or worsening!) and want to address problems before they get too big?
• Know you want some kind of help, but unsure about the best approach?

In a Relationship Consult, we spend 2-3 sessions assessing your relationship and building a plan to nurture it long-term. Like a dental checkup or physical, you get expert input without committing to full therapy.

In my own research, I found brief work is a great start even for major concerns. I use approaches such as Cordova’s Relationship Checkup model, the IBCT intake model, and Consumer Centered Family Consultation.

• Do you find yourself circling back to the same few arguments over and over without making progress?
• Do you work fine as “coparents” or “roommates,” but have lost “the spark” that brought you together?
• Feeling unsure about how to move forward after a recent disruption (e.g., affair, trauma, or loss)?

For my couple therapy clients, I work on the pattern as a whole, helping you coordinate small changes to make big differences. This work generally takes 6-12 months, though can go longer if new problems emerge.

My approach varies by couple, but I draw techniques from treatments shown to offer the best chance for improvement such as Integrated Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT), Behavioral Couple Therapy for Depression, or Emotion Focused Therapy.

• Do you find yourself lashing out and behaving the most critically to the people you love the most?
• Do you and your partner periodically “lose control” in chaotic arguments, perhaps even getting physical?
• Do you feel like you can only switch between “bottling it up” and “boiling over?”

Depending on your needs, I am trained in different individual and couple-based treatments for high-conflict and sometimes-violent relationships.

My own research has shown that different couples want or need different supports depending on the severity of their problems, but I will work with you to be as responsive as possible while maximizing safety.

Note I do NOT provide court evaluations and am NOT trained to make determinations for Child Protective Services.

• Have you lived with chronic suicidal thoughts and unsure what they mean?
• Have you recently gotten your suicidal behaviors under control and are ready to build a life worth living?
• Are you ready to open up about your struggles with loved ones, but unsure where to start?

Outpatient therapy for suicide ideation is a highly personalized process. We will work together to fit my approach to your needs, including checkin in every 12-13 sessions about your treatment plan and adjusting accordingly.

As a solo psychotherapy practice, I cannot provide crisis support or medication management, but I am willing to collaborate with your larger care team.

• Feeling burnt out or overwhelmed caring for a loved one with a chronic mental health or medical condition?
• Need a space to vent without adding your loved one’s burdens?
• Trying to find a way to be a more effective caregiver without exhausting yourself?

As a family therapist working with families impacted mental health conditions such as PTSD and depression, I have spent the last 8 years helping develop resources for family members..

• Beginning to serve couples in your private practice?
• Developing a web app or business model that serves couples?
• Wondering if there’s more insights you can gain out of data you have?

For the last 8 years, I have helped train new couple therapists and supported businesses and researchers collecting or analyzing data on relationships (e.g., student-teacher; workplace collaboration).

Past consulting clients include: business consultants analyzing workplace relationships, entrepreneurs developing dating websites, instructors evaluating teaching methods, and public health researchers examining overdose risk.

Note as a part-time solo practice I CANNOT provide direct supervision to trainees.