Couples Therapy in Seattle & WA
Find your way back to each other.
Couples therapy can help you and your partner better understand the patterns that keep you stuck, communicate in more meaningful ways, and build a stronger sense of connection.
If you love each other but find yourselves having the same arguments, feeling emotionally disconnected, or struggling to navigate changes in your relationship, you don't have to figure it out alone.
I provide attachment-based, trauma-informed couples therapy in Seattle and virtually throughout Washington State. Together, we'll slow things down, understand what's happening beneath the conflict, and work toward creating a relationship where both partners feel seen, heard, and understood.
Who Couples Therapy is For
Couples Who Want to Understand Each Other Differently
Couples therapy is for partners who want to strengthen their relationship, work through challenges, or find a new way of relating to one another.
You don't have to be in crisis to benefit from couples therapy. You might be coming to therapy because something has felt different lately, because you've been caught in the same cycle for years, or because you want support navigating a new season of your relationship.
Couples therapy may be a good fit if you:
Feel stuck in the same arguments or conflicts
Have difficulty communicating without becoming defensive, critical, or withdrawn
Feel emotionally disconnected from your partner
Struggle to express your needs or feel heard by your partner
Feel more like roommates than romantic partners
Are carrying resentment or unresolved hurt
Are having difficulty rebuilding trust or repairing after conflict
Are navigating major life changes together
Want to better understand how your past experiences affect your relationship
Want to deepen emotional intimacy and connection
You don't need to know exactly what's wrong before reaching out. Part of our work together can be understanding what is happening in your relationship and identifying what you both need to move forward.
What Can Couples Therapy Help With?
Many couples come to therapy because they keep experiencing the same problems without knowing how to change them. Often, the issue isn't simply the topic of the argument — it's the pattern that develops between you.
Communication & Conflict
You may find yourselves having the same conversation repeatedly without feeling understood. Conversations can quickly turn into criticism, defensiveness, shutting down, or walking away.
Couples therapy can help you slow these interactions down, understand what is happening beneath the conflict, and develop more effective ways of communicating.
Emotional Disconnection
You may still love your partner but feel lonely, distant, or disconnected within the relationship. You might miss the closeness you once had or feel unsure how to reconnect.
Therapy can create space to understand what has gotten in the way of connection and begin rebuilding emotional intimacy.
Resentment & Hurt
Past conflicts, disappointments, or unmet needs can build resentment over time. Even when the original issue is no longer being discussed, the hurt may continue to affect the relationship.
Therapy can help you understand what happened, process difficult emotions, and work toward repair.
Intimacy & Connection
Emotional and physical intimacy can change throughout a relationship. Stress, conflict, life transitions, and unresolved hurt can all make it harder to feel close.
Couples therapy can provide a supportive space to talk openly about intimacy, connection, vulnerability, and the needs of both partners.
Life Transitions
Relationships often change as life changes. Moving, career transitions, becoming parents, changes in family relationships, and other major life events can create new stress within a partnership.
Therapy can help couples navigate these transitions while staying connected to one another.
Cultural / Family Differences
Differences in culture, family background, values, communication styles, or expectations can sometimes create tension between partners.
Couples therapy can provide space to explore these differences with curiosity and respect, rather than treating one partner's perspective as more correct than the other's.
ADHD and Neurodivergence in Relationships
Differences in attention, organization, communication, emotional regulation, or sensory needs can affect how partners experience their relationship.
Therapy can help couples better understand these differences, reduce blame, and develop ways of relating that work better for both partners.
What Couples Therapy Looks Like
Slowing Down
When couples are stuck, it can feel like conflict happens faster than either person can understand what is happening. In therapy, we'll slow things down.
Rather than focusing only on what you're arguing about, we'll explore what is happening underneath the argument.
What are you feeling? What are you needing? What are you afraid might happen? What happens inside you when your partner responds a certain way?
Understanding these deeper patterns can create new possibilities for connection.
Understanding Your Relationship Cycle
Together, we'll identify the patterns that repeatedly show up between you.
You might notice that one partner tends to pursue while the other withdraws, or that both partners become defensive when they feel hurt. Once you can recognize the cycle, you can begin to step out of it rather than continuing to react from it.
Building New Ways of Connecting
Understanding your relationship patterns is only the beginning. We'll also practice new ways of communicating, expressing needs, responding to one another, and repairing after difficult moments.
The goal isn't perfect communication or a relationship without conflict. The goal is developing the skills and understanding to move through conflict with greater safety, compassion, and connection.
A Relationship-Centered and Attachment-Based Approach
I don't believe couples therapy is about choosing sides or deciding who is right and who is wrong.
Instead, I approach couples therapy with curiosity about the relationship as a whole. We'll look at the patterns between you, the experiences that shaped those patterns, and the emotions and needs underneath them.
My approach is informed by Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), attachment theory, trauma-informed care, systems thinking, and Internal Family Systems (IFS).
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No. Couples therapy isn't only for relationships that are in crisis. Many couples seek therapy because they want to strengthen their relationship, improve communication, or address patterns before they become more difficult to change.
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Recurring arguments are often a sign that there is a deeper relationship pattern underneath the specific topic of conflict. Couples therapy can help you identify that pattern and understand what keeps bringing you back to the same place.
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My role is not to decide who is right or wrong. I work to understand both partners and the relationship dynamics between you. At the same time, each person is responsible for their own behavior and participation in the relationship.
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It is common for partners to have different levels of readiness. We can talk about those concerns together and explore what might help both partners feel comfortable participating in the process.
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There isn't one standard timeline. The length of therapy depends on your goals, the concerns you're working through, and what feels appropriate for your relationship. Some couples benefit from focused work around a specific concern, while others choose to work together over a longer period of time.
Research has shown that Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy typically takes 12-20 weekly sessions (roughly 3-5 months) to see meaningful change. However, it’s common for couples to stay in therapy for 6-12 months or longer, depending on your relationship needs.
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Yes. Cultural backgrounds, family expectations, immigration experiences, values, and different beliefs about relationships can all shape how partners experience one another. These differences can be explored with curiosity, respect, and openness.
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Yes. I offer couples therapy virtually throughout Washington State, as well as in-person therapy in the Seattle area.
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Our first session will be a little more structured as I get to know you and your relationship. We'll talk about what brought you to therapy, understand the larger context of your relationship, discuss your goals, and begin identifying the patterns you'd like to change.
You won't be expected to have everything figured out. The first session is an opportunity for us to begin understanding your relationship and determine how I can best support you.
From there, I’ll then see both partners individually in the following sessions so I can better understand you individually. For the fourth session, we’ll all come back together and continue future sessions together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to Find Your Way Back to Each Other?
Starting couples therapy can feel vulnerable, especially if you've been struggling to talk about difficult things together. You don't have to know exactly what you need before reaching out.
1 )
Reach Out
Complete my inquiry form, and we'll schedule a free 20-minute consultation.
2 )
Let’s Talk
We'll discuss what's bringing you to therapy, answer any questions you have, and see whether we're a good fit.
3 )
Begin Therapy
If we decide to work together, we'll schedule your first appointment, complete the intake process, and begin moving toward the goals that matter most to you.
