Therapy for Couples
Relational therapy in the Phoenixville Area of Chester County, PA
Couples therapy informed by neuroscience, the nervous system, and the practice of relational awareness.
I am a highly attuned relationship therapist skilled at deep work and healing with couples. I incorporate somatic and nervous system approaches to go beneath the anxious, overthinking, cognitive processes to access deeper feelings, unmet attachment needs, and authenticity. I do my best work with clients who want to be challenged and who are interested in more holistic, mind-body practices.
Neuroscience
Understanding how the brain operates in response to feeling unsafe, emotionally flooded, and triggered — and using this information to create more self-awareness and grounding practices.
Therapy for Couples — married or dating
Here are some challenges my couple clients experience:
Patterns of conflict: difficulty resolving conflict in a healthy way, instead finding a pattern of feeling stuck — either fighting more or distancing
Miscommunication: trouble with feeling heard in the relationship, finding it challenging to effectively communicate wants, needs, expectations
Dissatisfaction around intimacy: this can be physical or emotional intimacy — or both; couples struggle to feel connected and intimate
Coparenting challenges: this can be around specific parenting styles, as well as struggles to feel that parenting roles are balanced
Inability to heal from past wounds: instead of feeling resolve around past hurts, couples struggle to move on and feel that the present interactions are overshadowed by the past
Big life transitions: whether moving in together, getting married, having a baby, moving locations, navigating a big loss, or shifting to a new stage together — couples can often find it challenging to stay connected through major transitions
Coping with stress: life in the modern world can be intensely stressful, and we often have differing ways of coping with stress than our partner; couples can sometimes turn on each other when the real issue is that stress needs to be better managed in the relationship
I take a root-cause approach that blends:
Family systems therapy — understanding that family that shaped both you and your partner
Attachment theory — helping you and your partner understand the degree to which you are securely or insecurely attached in the relationship, and how that factors into the relationship dynamics
Emotionally Focused Therapy — building upon Attachment Theory, this approach helps couples to identify their specific “relationship dance” to understand what unmet attachment needs drive patterns of behavior
Gottman Couples Therapy — practical, actionable approaches to couples work that are evidence-based from 40+ years of research on the science of what makes relationships thrive
Nervous system awareness & mindfulness — education on how the nervous system works, and how it can be hijacked during stressful interactions between partners; mindfulness approaches help couples to develop more skills around regulation, as well as increasing physical and emotional intimacy
Ready to get started?
I am too! I am ready to hear where you’ve been and where you’d like to go — with tenderness and open-heartedness.
Investment Fees
My current rates:
Couples therapy is $160 per 50-minute session
Pay-what-you-can — I have a few of these slots for those in financial need. If interested, contact me directly!
On the blog
Frequently Asked Questions
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My current hours are as follows:
Tuesdays & Thursdays from 10am-4pm
Most of my clients see me weekly or biweekly, and we meet at the same time each week. I have limited floating appointments for those who have less predictable schedules.
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At this time, I am only taking on clients who can meet virtually. I use Simple Practice as my platform, and it has a great HIPPAA-compliant and easy-to-use telehealth component.
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Virtual therapy can be a great option for many clients.
Here are some benefits:
Convenience — attend a session from work or home.
Access — clients can have much broader access to specialized care when they aren’t limited by distance.
Cost — therapists that offer virtual care often charge less because they have less overhead. They also may have more sliding scale or pay-what-you-can spots (both of these are true for my practice!).
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In order to ensure we are a good fit, I start things off with a free 15-minute video consultation. During this consultation, we'll explore the goals of therapy and whether they align with my approach. It's important that we interview each other, as research shows that the "rightness of fit" of the therapeutic relationship has a huge impact on progress! Work with me.
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This is a very common question! Generally speaking, no. I don’t do both couples and individual work simultaneously. This is because I need to stay impartial for couples therapy for balance and trust. It’s also important that I don’t become a “secret keeper” if I’m seeing one member of the couple much more often.
However, I do have individual clients invite their partner in periodically when there is a focus on the relationship in the work.
In my work with couples, I also periodically do individual sessions (typically, one for each partner to create balance).
If you have more specific questions, feel free to reach out to me directly.
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My clients pay directly for therapy services (my client portal keeps your credit card on file, which makes it easy).
I accept all major credit cards and debit cards, plus HSA and FSA cards.
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No, but many of my clients do seek insurance reimbursement since I am considered an out-of-network provider.
First, find out if you qualify for out-of-network benefits. If you do, our client portal automatically creates a superbill of the previous month’s invoices, which is what you will forward to your insurance company for reimbursement.
How to find out if you have out-of-network benefits:
Clients reach out directly to their insurance provider to find out if they have out-of-network benefits. You’ll call your insurance provider and ask the following questions:
• Do I have out-of-network benefits for mental or behavioral health with this policy?
• Do I have an out-of-network deductible?
• If yes:
• What is my out-of-network deductible?
• How much of my out-of-network deductible has been met?
• What is the start date of the calendar year my out-of-network policy is based on?
Ask the representative what percentage does the policy cover for the following services:
90791 - Intake Session
90834 - Individual psychotherapy
90847 - Couples Therapy
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I have a 24-hour cancellation policy. If clients cancel within that window, they are charged a full session fee.
Our client portal sends out appointment reminders 48 and 24 hours ahead of time, plus 15 minutes before appointments.