Couples Therapy
Most couples reach out when they're not exactly "in crisis," but they do feel stuck. Life starts to look like logistics, not connection. Maybe every conversation turns into a blow-up, maybe you both go quiet instead, and either way you end up feeling distant, or alone in the same room.
A lot of the work I do is with couples caught in high-conflict cycles, the kind where one comment snowballs fast and neither of you feels understood by the end. I also work with couples dealing with low or mismatched desire, sexual avoidance, shifts in intimacy after a baby or a major change, and the real-world complications that can come with opening a relationship.
Sometimes you're having the same argument on repeat and you can't even remember what started it, you just know how it ends. Other times the fighting has stopped, but so has the closeness. Therapy isn't only for relationships that are falling apart. It can be about wanting more, wanting your relationship to feel safe again, or wanting it to feel safe for the first time.
My role is to hold space for both partners, so each of you can feel heard without being blamed or shamed for where things are right now. From there, we work on rebuilding communication, trust, and emotional and physical closeness, in a way that actually fits your relationship.
Signs it might be time...
Nothing is "too small" to bring in, and nothing is automatically beyond repair if you're willing to look at it honestly. Couples often come to therapy for things like:
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Arguments that go in circles and never resolve
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Conversations that escalate quickly and leave both of you flooded or shut down
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Emotional distance, or the slow sense that you're drifting into roommates
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Desire differences, low desire, or desire that's faded
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Avoiding sex, or intimacy feeling different after a baby, illness, or major life shift
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Infidelity, betrayal, and the long work of rebuilding trust
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Opening the relationship, or finding your footing in non-monogamy
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Premarital work, so you're strengthening things before they break
If you're wondering whether your situation "counts," it does. Many couples start well before a breaking point, and that's a solid reason to begin.
How I work with couples
I'm not here to referee and I'm not interested in deciding who's right. What I do is help you see the pattern the two of you have built together, not on purpose, but over time, and then help you change it.
I'm trained in the Gottman Method (Levels 1 & 2), one of the most research-backed approaches to couples therapy, and I also work relationally and experientially. That means we pay attention to what's happening between you in the room, not only the version of events you're carrying in from home. Sessions can include identifying the cycle you keep getting pulled into, practicing concrete communication skills (not just "talk more"), and making room for parts of the relationship, sexual or otherwise, that have gone quiet or tense.
Relationships take a lot of forms, and I work with a wide range of couples: long-term partners and newer relationships, LGBTQIA+ couples, non-monogamous and polyamorous relationships, and couples preparing for marriage as well as couples repairing one. Wherever things are today, you don't need to have it all sorted out before you come in.
Investment & Logistics
Sessions are $175 for 50 minutes. I'm private-pay, so I don't bill insurance directly, but I can provide a monthly superbill for you to submit for possible out-of-network reimbursement. Sessions are available in-person in Austin, TX, or virtually anywhere in Texas.