Relational Therapy

It is hard to feel content and at peace when there is conflict or strife in your intimate relationship(s). I can help you to reduce conflict, improve communication, and enhance connection. I am experienced in working with open relationships, consensual non-monogamy, and polyamory. As a certified sex therapist, I can help with concerns such as desire discrepancy, sexual dysfunction, and navigating kink / BDSM.

I'm well trained in psychodynamic and systems-oriented relational therapy. This means that we'll work together to improve your relationships and overall wellbeing, through both exploring the past, and looking with curiosity at your current connections and patterns of communication. We'll be able to learn from the way you and I work and communicate together, trying new behaviors along the way. We'll discover what "old roles" worked in the past, that no longer serve you in the present.

My study of Relational Therapy began with some research work with Otto Kernberg and his interactions with an outpatient with borderline personality organization.

Working relationally means I will connect with you as myself. I am a real person in the room with you, with humor and personality. I am not a blank slate, I will not sit silently and stare at you while you talk. I will still maintain professional boundaries and the focus will always be on you, I will listen empathically and share in your human experience.

I often work with clients from a relational perspective which means that I look at their patterns of relating to others, and how these patterns often originate from relationships earlier in life. Even though they begin early in life, they often continue throughout life, and they may cause problems in adulthood. Once people are aware of the interpersonal patterns they are engaging in during adulthood, we are able to start working on altering them if needed.

I believe the therapeutic relationship is the biggest influence on change. I see a relationship built within the psychotherapy room as a catalyst to repair old attachment wounds, or core wounds. By having a consistent, stable relationship we can safely break down maladaptive relational patterns and practice new ones. A relational approach believes that through the therapist up, down or co regulating with a client they can better tune into their own emotional experiences.

I provide therapy from a relational-cultural frame, with attention to how the past affects the present. Relational-Cultural therapy focuses on how connection is a vehicle for healing as well as an outcome of healing. This therapeutic approach also considers how psychology has historically pathologized people based on identity (ex: sex, gender, ethnicity, race, religion, sexuality)

Relational therapy is about strengthening relationship-building skills and addressing issues involving relationships from the past. It can also be defined as building a relationship with one’s therapist. Building connections with others helps initiate individual growth.

The secret sauce to good therapy is the relationship between therapist and client. This is why you've probably heard so much about "fit." For therapy to work, you need to feel safe. It's not that you'll trust your therapist right away, because trust has to be earned and built. But you'll have the sense you can share personal or vulnerable information with your therapist and they'll hold it close, with love and respect.

I truly believe the therapeutic relationship is a tool to be used in therapy. I think in order to heal our relationships we need to have a model of a relationship with healthy boundaries that you can depend on, and I try to cultivate that with the folks I work with.

Relational therapy is a type of counseling that focuses on the importance of our relationships in shaping our emotional well-being. It helps individuals understand how past and present relationships impact their thoughts and feelings, and it aims to improve communication, connection, and overall relationship quality. I collaborate with my clients to explore and address relational issues, aiming to enhance emotional health and promote more satisfying interactions with others.

As you can imagine, relationships and connections are fundamental, regardless of how introverted or extroverted you identify. This therapy focuses on understanding patterns in past and current relationships, improving interpersonal dynamics, and enhancing healthier, more meaningful connections.

Therapy is a very particular kind of relationship, but a relationship none the less. Sometimes dynamics and patterns you experience outside of therapy will find their way into therapy too. This creates a perfect opportunity to work through whatever feelings may be coming up in the moment and to explore them in real time to create deeper understanding and change.

I am relational and systemic oriented, as my work centers around people and their experiences in relation to themselves, others, systems, and the world.

Research tells us that the number one predictor of client success in therapy is the "therapeutic alliance" between therapist and client. That is why before anything else I am determined to think of each person as an individual and built a unique relationship and treatment plan for every person I see. One size fits all doesn't work in clothes and it definitely doesn't work in therapy.

I provide therapy from a relational-cultural frame, with attention to how the past affects the present. Relational-Cultural therapy focuses on how connection is a vehicle for healing as well as an outcome of healing. This therapeutic approach also considers how psychology has historically pathologized people based on identity (ex: sex, gender, ethnicity, race, religion, sexuality)

Approaches therapy from a relational framework whether I work with individuals, relationships, or families. I explore issues in how people relate to others and their environments.