ONLINE therapy ACROSS IlLinois, iowA & michigan
IN-PERSON therapy IN CHICAGO
Couples Therapy
Move from conflict to connection.
You both care. You both want things to be better. Yet you keep ending up in the same painful place, and wondering—should it be this hard?
Even when you're sitting right next to each other, it can feel lonely.
Maybe the same issues keep coming up. One of you may push for answers, reassurance, or closeness… and the other gets defensive, shuts down, or pulls away. Maybe small issues turn into big blowups. Or maybe the conflict is quiet — but the distance or resentment feels loud.
Conversations stay surface level. Tension builds. You avoid certain topics because it's not worth the fight.
Couples come to therapy with more than communication problems. Sometimes you're trying to find your way back to each other after years of stress, painful experiences, broken trust, or changes neither of you anticipated.
You don't need a better way to make your case.
You need a different way to feel safe, heard, and connected again.
Something between you isn't working anymore.
You’re Ready To…
✓ Feel close again—like you're on the same team.
✓ Talk about hard things without fighting or shutting down.
✓ Feel understood instead of constantly defending yourself.
✓ Break the patterns that keep pulling you apart.
✓ Rebuild trust, closeness, and security.
our work together
I use Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), a research-supported approach that helps couples move out of stuck patterns and back into connection. Rather than deciding who's right or wrong, assigning blame, or trying to fix your partner, we'll focus on understanding the cycle you get pulled into—especially what happens when one or both of you starts to feel alone, rejected, or hurt.
Often, the conflict isn't really about the logistics. Underneath it are deeper questions: Do I matter to you? Am I a priority? Will you be there when I need you?
We'll take time to look at real moments from your relationship, understand what's happening beneath the conflict, and practice new ways of reaching each other.
Over time, you'll begin to feel the difference: less reactivity, fewer blowups, faster repair, and a relationship that feels more connected, stable, and secure.
Stop repeating the argument and start reaching the person.
Common questions
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Couples sessions are guided, structured conversations where we slow things down and focus on the different layers of what's happening between you.
We'll start by identifying the patterns you get stuck in and understanding the feelings underneath your reactions. Rather than trying to cover every issue or disagreement, we might slow down a specific moment between you to explore what each of you was experiencing and how you responded to each other. You'll both have space to share your perspectives and practice new ways of reaching each other.
For virtual couples sessions, I ask that both partners join from the same location and share one screen whenever possible. Being together helps us work with your feelings as they arise and creates opportunities for safe connection during sessions.
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It’s very common for one partner to feel more “ready” than the other. If your partner is skeptical, they may be worried about being ganged up on, blamed, or told they’re the “problem.”
In EFT, my role isn’t to take sides; it’s to help you both look at the cycle that’s making you miserable. Once a hesitant partner realizes the goal isn’t to figure out “who’s wrong,” but to understand what keeps pulling you into conflict or disconnection, it can feel a lot less threatening.
You don’t have to commit to months of therapy from the start. You can begin with a few sessions and see how the process—and our fit—feels to both of you.
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You can still do meaningful work in individual therapy to understand your patterns, get grounded in what you need, and change how you show up in the relationship. Changes on one side of a relationship can sometimes shift the dynamic between you. If your partner becomes open to couples therapy later, I can make appropriate referrals to another couples therapist at that time.
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To support the health of your relationship, I practice a Limited Secrets policy. This means I may bring up information shared with me individually if I believe it’s important to your shared therapy goals. If that happens, I’ll almost always talk with you privately first, and we’ll work together on how and when to address it with your partner. The goal isn’t to expose or surprise anyone—it’s to make sure secrets don’t undermine the work we’re doing together.
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That depends on what you’re working through and how stuck the pattern feels right now, but my goal is never to keep you in therapy forever. We’ll stay focused on real progress, and over time you can feel more clarity, more connection, and more confidence handling hard moments on your own—so you can “graduate” with a plan that actually sticks.
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Contact me to schedule a free consultation. I ask that both partners join the call so I can hear briefly from each of you about what’s bringing you to couples therapy and what you’re hoping will change. If it feels like a good fit, we’ll schedule an initial session, you’ll each complete some brief paperwork, and we’ll go from there.