Relational Therapy

Therapy with anyone in your life who is important to you! Parents, siblings, co-workers, couples looking to open up, couples looking to split up, co-parenting, step-parenting or any other relationship you'd like help improving.

We encourage you to view the therapeutic space as your “relational home,” where your experiences will be honored and held by our empathetic team of clinicians. Our goal is to collaborate to help you make meaning of your story, ultimately searching for opportunities for relief and personal growth. By embracing what happens in the therapeutic relationship, valuable information is gained and is helpful in our understanding of you and your opportunities for growth and healing.

I often work with clients from a relational perspective which means that I look at their patterns of relating to others, and how these patterns often originate from relationships earlier in life. Once people are aware of the patterns they are engaging in, we are able to start working on changing them if needed.

My therapy is oriented toward thinking about relationships.

Relational therapy draws from a psychodynamic therapeutic approach to better understand that we are shaped by our social world and relationships. It is understood that having healthy relationships are essential factors for our wellbeing and self-esteem. Relational therapy explores how past experiences affects our beliefs, patterns of how we relate to others and self.

I consider therapy to be inherently and essentially relational, using my relationship with clients as a therapeutic tool in which we both participate and affect one another. In the context of this relationship, we can explore what it is like for you to be seen by another and what it is like for someone else to see you. In this space, we can explore how your past is played out in your present relationships, ultimately bringing more understanding and meaningful relationships in your life.

Our relationships with our partners, friendships, & selves are deeply connected to whether we felt heard, understood, & safe growing up. I provide individual & relational therapy with the goal of understanding this context & how it impacts us in order to effectively address problems that you're experiencing today.

The goal of couples counseling isn't to help you avoid or eliminate conflict. All relationships cycle from harmony, disharmony, and repair. The goal of my work is to help you repair more quickly and more effectively. Intimacy can be scary. It is, after all, making one's self vulnerable, allowing the other to see inside you. That's why we will also work to increase your self-awareness in therapy. How can you share of yourself if you don't know yourself?

I believe harm and healing occur within relationships. The relationship we cultivate of trust and honesty in the therapy space can be a learning lab, where we practice new skills that can then be translated into other relationships in your life. I believe the "click" and fit between therapist and client is one of the most important predictors of success in therapy, so I will be very open and honest in helping you find the best person with whom to seek care!

A relational orientation to therapy is marked by a contextual understanding of a client’s experience, including intra and interpersonal aspects. By means of relational language (stories and metaphors) and embodied learning (mind-body connection), I invite the client to tap into their own resourcefulness to create new connections (e.g., alternative ways of thinking about a problem, re-evaluation of what has been considered as a problem, and the dusting-off of hidden resources).

I use relational psychodynamic therapy because I see the relationship we build together as the crucible of change: it acts as both a window into your interpersonal world, and also an arena in which you can try on new ways of being. We learn how to see ourselves and the world around in relationship, and this can become known and changed in relationship. In a non-judgmental, compassionate space, we contact and rework the dynamics that keep you feeling stuck, dissatisfied, and in pain.

Central to the relational therapy approach is the idea that we are shaped by our social world and relationships, and that having strong relationships is essential for our wellbeing and self-esteem.

A relational orientation to therapy is marked by a contextual understanding of a client’s experience, including intra and interpersonal aspects. By means of relational language (stories and metaphors) and embodied learning (mind-body connection), I invite clients to tap into their own resourcefulness to create new connections (e.g., alternative ways of thinking about a problem, re-evaluation of what has been considered as a problem, and the dusting-off of hidden resources).

Relational therapy understands that our lives are shaped by our relationships, and they are integral to our health and happiness. Relationships impact every area of our life.

As a Marriage and Family Therapist I am always steering couples and individuals towards relational health. Moving towards relational health can be challenging. Often it requires stronger boundaries which upsets the dynamics families and couples are used to. However, the rewards of relational health are living a more purpose, authenticity, and joy.