Don’t settle for living parallel lives, living in an atmosphere of silent tension, or modeling conflict for your children. There is a better way....

Often, after the romantic phase has passed and couples get bogged down in the mire of day to day life, work, chores, information overload, the connection that was once strong is now a distant memory with only periodic glimpses of the goodness.

You try to explain what you are feeling to your partner but the way to get through to them seems to have eroded. You may see their pain too, but find it hard to be there for them without your defenses getting in the way. Your ways of being seem be worlds apart.

In relationship, when we feel pain our old brain is activated and our response options become limited: we behave more primitively. Fight, flight, freeze, surrender, withdrawal are among the most common ways we defend ourselves against pain.

I would like to help and am particularly effective in helping couples move from conflict to safety so they can connect with each other again. I have a strong background and certification in Harville Hendrix’s Imago Relationship Therapy as well as extensive training and experience in other couples therapy models. My expertise is in guiding couples to find their way back to enjoying each other’s company and becoming intimate again.

Here's what you can expect to learn from doing couples work with my coaching:

• Basics on the biology of the brain so you can work with it, rather than letting it sabotage you through reactivity
• A powerful, portable process, the “Intentional Dialogue”, to help you navigate through difficult conflicts
• How to express yourself in a way that your partner’s brain can hear your message
• How to use frustrations with your partner to grow closer
• Understand the pain underneath your partner’s complaints
• Manage the tension that arises from differences
• Replace unspoken expectations with clearly stated goals
• Model healthy ways to disagree for your children
• Communicate effectively
• Create an intentional relationship
• Rediscover passion, laughter and pleasure
• Experience true intimacy

• discovering and evaluating the effectiveness of the coping strategies you use when things get difficult
• changing the coping strategies that are getting in the way of the results you want
• increasing your understanding of your needs and desires and those of your partner
• learning to be direct and clear about what you want and need from a partner
• creating specific behavior changes for yourself that will move you closer to being the partner you want to be