Online Couples Therapy in California & Michigan
Couples therapy focused on deeper connection and lasting change.
Many couples come to therapy feeling caught in a painful cycle of misunderstandings that escalate quickly, conversations that never seem to go anywhere, emotional distance, resentment, shutdown, defensiveness, or the sense that you keep missing each other no matter how hard you try. Over time, these patterns can leave partners feeling exhausted, disconnected, and alone in the relationship.
We offer a space to slow these patterns down and better understand what's happening underneath them. Rather than focusing on who is "right" or "wrong," our work explores the emotional dynamics, attachment patterns, communication styles, nervous system responses, and past experiences shaping the relationship. The goal is not perfection; it's helping partners feel more understood, connected, and able to move through conflict while maintaining closeness in healthier, more intentional ways.
My approach integrates trauma-informed, relational, and attachment-focused work, including principles from The Gottman Method, Intimacy From the Inside Out (IFIO), and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), while recognizing the every relationship is unique. Therapy is collaborative, grounded, and tailored to the needs of the people in the room rather than forcing couples into a rigid formula or communication script.
Going beyond the argument itself
Most couples don't come to therapy because they never loved each other or never tried hard enough. More often, they find themselves stuck in patterns that repeat over and over—conflict that escalates quickly, emotional distance, overwhelm, shutdown, defensiveness, resentment, and the feeling that neither person truly feels understood.
Couples therapy focuses on slowing these patterns down and understanding what's happening underneath them. Often, the conflict is only the surface layer. Beneath it may be attachment wounds, unmet emotional needs, nervous system reactions, past experiences, fears of rejection, or ways of protecting yourself that made sense at one point but now create disconnection within the relationship.
Over time, therapy can help both people communicate more openly, respond less reactively, and feel more emotionally connected and understood. The goal is not to "win" arguments or determine who is right or wrong, but to help create a relationship that feels safe, supportive, and more intentional for the people involved.
Our online couples therapy sessions are conveniently available for all California and Michigan residents.
Helping couples move out of painful patterns and into deeper connection
Couples therapy is not about deciding who is "right" or "wrong." Most couples already know the surface-level arguments they keep having. The harder part is understanding the emotional patterns underneath them and finding a way to respond to each other.
My approach to couples therapy is collaborative, trauma-informed, and grounded in helping partners feel more understood, emotionally safe, and connected within the relationship. Whether you're navigating conflict, communication difficulties, neurodivergence, trauma, or simply feeling disconnected, therapy creates space to slow thing down and work toward more intentional ways of relating.
When conflict turns into disconnection
Many couples don’t just struggle with arguments—they struggle with the emotional distance that builds afterward. Over time, repeated cycles of conflict, shutdown, defensiveness, criticism, or avoidance can leave partners feeling alone, unheard, or emotionally unsafe within the relationship.
Couples therapy focuses on understanding these cycles and creating new ways of responding to each other so conflict no longer automatically leads to disconnection. The goal is not to avoid difficult conversations, but to help both people feel more understood, supported, and emotionally connected even during moments of stress.
Support for nontraditional relationships
Healthy relationships can take many forms. I work affirmingly with non-monogamous relationships, polyamorous relationships, queer-platonic relationships (QPRs), and other relationship structures that may fall outside traditional expectations.
Many people in these relationships have had experiences of feeling misunderstood, judged, or forced to explain dynamics that are often approached through a narrow lens. I offer a space to explore communication, attachment, jealousy, boundaries, intimacy, identity, conflict, and emotional needs without the assumption that there is only one “right” way for relationships to look.
The goal is not to force relationships into a traditional framework, but to help create relationships that feel intentional, connected, sustainable, and aligned with the people in them.
LGBTQ+ Affirming Couples Therapy
Relationships outside traditional norms often navigate experiences that others may not fully understand, including identity exploration, family rejection, minority stress, communication around visibility or safety, and pressure from outside expectations. Therapy offers a space where queer couples can explore these experiences without needing to defend, explain, or minimize who they are or how their relationship works.
Neurodivergent Couples Therapy
Neurodivergence can shape communication styles, emotional processing, sensory needs, conflict, routines, intimacy, and the way each partner experiences connection and stress. Many neurodivergent couples, or mixed-neurotype couples, find themselves stuck in cycles of misunderstanding despite deeply caring about each other.
Therapy focuses on helping both partners better understand each other’s nervous systems, communication patterns, emotional needs, and ways of processing the world so the relationship can feel more supportive and sustainable for both people.
Trauma Informed Couples Therapy
Past experiences don’t stay neatly contained in the past—they often continue shaping the way people respond to conflict, vulnerability, emotional closeness, trust, and connection. Trauma-informed couples therapy recognizes how nervous system responses, attachment wounds, and protective patterns can show up within relationships, even when neither partner intends harm.
Rather than focusing only on communication techniques, therapy also explores the emotional and relational experiences underneath the conflict so couples can respond to each other with more understanding, safety, and connection over time.
How to Start Couples Therapy Online
Even when partners care deeply, relationships can still become stuck in patterns that feel exhausting and hard to change. We offer a space to slow things down, better understand each other, and begin moving toward a different way of relating.
The next step is scheduling a free 20-minute consultation to see whether working together feels like the right fit for your relationship.
Online Couples Therapy in California & Michigan
FAQs About Couples Therapy with Authentic Healing Therapy
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Do both partners need to attend every session?
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In most cases, yes. Couples therapy works best when both people are actively involved in the process together. Occasionally, individual sessions may be recommended as part of the work, but the primary focus remains on the relationship and the patterns happening between partners.
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What if one of us is less sure about therapy than the other?
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That's very common. Couples often begin therapy with different levels of hope, certainty, and readiness. You do not need to agree on everything before starting. Therapy can still be helpful even when one or both people feel hesitant, overwhelmed, or unsure where to begin.
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What can we expect from couples therapy?
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Couples therapy offers a space to better understand the patterns shaping your relationship; not just the surface-level arguments themselves. Sessions often explore communication, emotional reactions, attachment, conflict cycles, trust, disconnection, intimacy, and the way partners experience and respond to stress within the relationship.
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What approaches or modalities do you use in couples therapy?
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My couples work is primary informed by Intimacy From the Inside Out (IFIO), and approach rooted in understanding the internal emotional and protective patterns each person brings into the relationship. Rather than focusing only on communication techniques, this work explores the deeper emotional dynamics underneath the conflict, shutdown, overwhelm, defensiveness, and disconnection.
I also integrate trauma-informed, attachment-focused, somatic, and nervous-system-informed approaches, along with principles from Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and The Gottman Method. Therapy is tailored to the unique needs of the relationship rather than forcing couples into a rigid formula.
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Can couples therapy help if we're in crisis or constantly fighting?
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Yes. Many couples begin therapy during periods of intense conflict, emotional disconnection, betrayal, major transitions, or uncertainty about the future of the relationship. Therapy focuses on slowing down painful cycles, increasing understanding of ourselves and each other, and helping us respond more intentionally rather than remaining stuck in escalating patterns.
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What happens if we decide to separate?
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Therapy is not about forcing couples to stay together at all costs. In some situations, part of the work may involve exploring whether the relation can heal and move forward in a healthy way. If separation becomes the direction chosen, therapy can also help support that process with greater clarity, care, and intentionality.
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Does online couples therapy actually work?
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Yes. Online couples therapy has been shown to be effective and connected. Many couples appreciate being able to attend sessions from their own environment, which can make scheduling easier and partners to engage more comfortably with the work.
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