Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started

Yes. I offer a complimentary 15-minute consultation for prospective clients.

The consultation is an opportunity for us to briefly discuss what brings you to therapy, what you hope to achieve, and whether Couples Chat Therapy is the right fit for your needs. It also provides space for you to ask questions about my approach, services, fees, and the therapy process.

Because the relationship between therapist and client is important, I encourage prospective clients to view the consultation as an opportunity for both of us to determine whether we are a good fit for working together.

Consultations are designed to help us determine whether working together makes sense.

During our conversation, I will ask a few questions about your relationship, the challenges you are experiencing, and what you hope will be different as a result of therapy. We may discuss concerns such as recurring conflict, trust issues, emotional disconnection, blended family dynamics, consensual non-monogamy, or uncertainty about the future of the relationship.

This is not a therapy session, and we will not attempt to resolve longstanding concerns during the consultation. Instead, the goal is to gain clarity about your needs, answer your questions, and determine whether my expertise and approach align with what you are seeking.

If we decide to move forward, we will discuss next steps for scheduling your first appointment.

Working Together

Relationships are not one of many specialties at Couples Chat Therapy. They are the focus.

While many therapists work with a broad range of concerns, my practice is dedicated to helping partners across diverse relationship structures understand and change the patterns affecting their relationships.  The work may involve navigating conflict, repairing trust, strengthen emotional connection, or building greater security and resilience within the relationship.

Relationship challenges often involve more than communication alone. Attachment injuries, recurring conflict cycles, blended family dynamics, co-parenting stress, intimacy concerns, relationship transitions, and patterns developed over time can all shape how partners respond to one another. Specialized relationship therapy looks beyond the surface-level argument to understand what is happening underneath and what keeps the pattern going. 

My work is informed by advanced training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Gottman Method principles, trauma-informed care, and doctoral research examining resilience and relationship satisfaction in step-couples. This specialized focus helps partners better understand their relational patterns and develop new ways of responding, repairing, and connecting.  

Many partners come to therapy after months or years of trying to work through the same concerns on their own. They have had the conversations, read the books, listened to the podcasts, and still find themselves caught in a painful, familiar pattern.

At Couples Chat Therapy,  the work goes beyond teaching communication skills.  Therapy focuses on understanding what happens between partners when the pattern takes over, what each person is protecting or responding to, and why attempts to fix the problem may keep leading back to the same place. 

My approach integrates attachment-based therapy, trauma-informed care, and evidence-based relationship interventions.  The work is responsive to your relationship structure, agreements, identities, and context, with the goal of helping partners create meaningful and lasting change.

Yes. 

While my practice primarily focuses on relationship therapy with partners, I maintain limited availability for individual clients seeking relationship-focused therapy.

You may be working through a breakup, divorce, or relationship transition, trying to understand recurring relationship patterns, healing from past relational injuries, or wanting to approach future relationships differently.

Some of the most meaningful relationship work can happen outside of a current partnership. Therapy creates space to understand how you show up in relationships, identify patterns you want to change, and move forward with greater clarity, intention, and self-awareness.

While my practice primarily focuses on relationship therapy with partners, meaningful work can still happen when only one person is ready or willing to participate.

Through Couples Therapy for One, we focus on identifying the patterns shaping your relationship, strengthening communication, clarifying boundaries, and understanding the responses and choices that are within your control. You cannot control your partner's behavior, but changing how you participate in a relational pattern can shift the dynamic and provide greater clarity about the relationship.

Many clients begin this work because a partner is hesitant, resistant, or not ready for therapy. Individual availability is limited and reserved for clients seeking focused, relationship-centered work.

Yes. Not every relationship enters therapy with the goal of staying together. Partners may be uncertain whether to repair the relationship, separate, or redefine what the relationship will look like moving forward.

Therapy provides a structured space to slow down the decision-making process, explore underlying concerns, and better understand the patterns that have contributed to where the relationship is now. The goal is not to persuade you toward a particular outcome. It is to help you make thoughtful decisions that align with your values, needs, and long-term well-being.

Whether the path forward involves repairing the relationship, restructuring it, or separating, therapy can help partners navigate the process with greater clarity, intention, and emotional responsibility.

Couples therapy is most effective when both partners are willing to participate in the process and take an honest look at their own contributions to relationship patterns. In situations involving ongoing coercion, active violence, severe untreated addiction, or circumstances that compromise emotional or physical safety, a different level or type of support may be more appropriate. These concerns can be discussed during the consultation process. 

The Therapy Process

No. My role is not to determine who is right or wrong or to choose one partner over another.

Therapy focuses on understanding the patterns contributing to conflict, disconnection, and distress rather than assigning one person as the problem. I remain attentive to the relationship and the goals partners have identified for the work.

That does not mean harmful behavior, broken agreements, or unhealthy dynamics are ignored or treated as equally shared. Part of my role is naming what is happening, helping partners understand the impact of their actions, and supporting accountability when it is needed.

My goal is to provide a balanced and respectful therapeutic space where each person can be heard while we remain honest about the patterns and behaviors affecting the relationship.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer.

The length of therapy depends on the concerns being addressed, your goals, the history and complexity of the relationship, and each partner's engagement in the process. Some partners come to therapy for a specific concern and meet their goals within a shorter period. Others need more time to repair trust, change longstanding patterns, or navigate complex family or relationship dynamics.

Therapy is not intended to become a permanent process. The goal is to help you develop the insight, skills, and new ways of responding needed to create meaningful change outside of the therapy room.

Many clients begin gaining clarity and a better understanding of their patterns within the first several sessions. Deeper change typically takes time, consistency, and practice between sessions

 Yes. Therapy is confidential within the limits of California law and professional ethics. Specific details regarding confidentiality, its limits, and how information is handled in relationship therapy are reviewed during the informed consent process.