Couples Therapy in San Marino
Serving Pasadena, the San Gabriel Valley, Northeast Los Angeles, and all of California via Telehealth
Your relationship may feel stuck…but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is broken.
You may be having the same argument over and over without getting anywhere.
One or both of you may feel criticized, dismissed, lonely, or unsure how to reach the other person. Intimacy may have faded. Resentment may be building. Or perhaps nothing dramatic has happened, but you can feel yourselves becoming more distant.
Sometimes a relationship reaches an obvious crisis. Other times, couples simply realize that the way they have been communicating is no longer working, and they do not want to wait until things get worse.
Couples therapy can help you slow the cycle down, understand what is happening between you, and begin responding to each other differently.
How couples therapy can help
Couples therapy provides a structured place to address difficult issues without falling into the same patterns that keep conversations stuck.
Our work may focus on:
Improving communication and reducing repetitive conflict
Understanding the patterns that leave each partner feeling unheard or alone
Repairing trust after hurt, secrecy, or a significant relationship rupture
Restoring emotional and physical intimacy
Navigating parenting stress, family boundaries, or major life transitions
Clarifying what each person needs from the relationship
Building a stronger sense of friendship, teamwork, and shared meaning
The goal is not to eliminate every disagreement. It is to help you handle conflict in a way that protects the relationship rather than gradually eroding it.
My approach to couples therapy
My work is primarily informed by the Gottman Method, a research-based approach focused on strengthening friendship, improving conflict management, and helping couples build a more stable and connected relationship.
I have completed Gottman Method Levels 1 and 2, along with additional training in working with relationship ruptures and infidelity. I also draw from solution-focused, trauma-informed, and systemic approaches depending on the needs of the couple.
Therapy is active and collaborative. I will help you identify the interactional patterns keeping you stuck, interrupt conversations when they become unproductive, and practice more effective ways of speaking and listening to one another.
Our work may include:
Assessing the strengths and pressure points in your relationship
Identifying the cycle underneath recurring arguments
Practicing more effective ways to raise concerns and respond to one another
Reducing criticism, defensiveness, contempt, and withdrawal
Repairing trust and creating clearer agreements after periods of hurt or disconnection
Strengthening affection, intimacy, and emotional connection
Developing shared goals and rituals that support the relationship over time
Premarital counseling and support for newlyweds
Couples therapy does not need to begin with a crisis.
Premarital counseling and newlywed therapy can help couples have important conversations, adjust to new roles and expectations, and address small points of friction before they become longstanding patterns.
Our work may include communication, conflict, finances, intimacy, family boundaries, household responsibilities, parenting expectations, and the kind of life you hope to build together.
I can incorporate structured assessments and exercises from Prepare/Enrich and the Gottman Method to help you identify the strengths already supporting your relationship, as well as areas that may need more attention.
This work is not about determining whether you are perfectly compatible or preventing every future disagreement. It is about helping you understand one another more clearly, navigate differences more effectively, and build habits that support the relationship as it grows.
Ready for the next step?
You do not need to know exactly what is wrong or have complete agreement about what needs to change before reaching out.
A free 20-minute consultation gives us an opportunity to discuss what has been happening, what you hope might change, and whether working together feels like a good fit.