About
I provide Marriage and Relationship Counseling using the Gottman Method, the only method I've found based on decades of scientific studies on what relational habits makes healthy, life-giving partnerships work so well, and what makes so many other relationships so miserable and combative.
For many, the promise of safety, joy and rest in a committed relationship don’t seem to match up to our expectations. This person once was our best friend, our closest confidant, our strongest supporter and the person me most wanted to please. Now that person often seems like our most frequent critic. They never seem to listen to us anymore, they are more focused on defending themselves than supporting us, and they seem impossible to please as they look down on us in contempt.
Helping couples and those in long-term committed relationships of every sort improve their communication and find more joy in their partners is my great passion in life. It is my goal to help show my clients how they can work together to transform their relationships into mutually enriching, central pillars of their wellness, rather than the seeming greatest obstacles to their individual happiness.
One of my greatest joys is seeing couples feel they understand one another again, feel that they can appreciate the person they are with, and have a solid plan how to keep understanding and appreciating their partner more day by day for the rest of their lives.
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
The first three sessions, especially the first session, are mostly about giving me the opportunity to understand you both a little better. After the first session I will send you a Gottman assessment for each of you to go through individually. The assessment evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of your relationship to get a better idea of what might be the source of any difficulties. We will go over the results of this assessment in the third session.
After that third session, our sessions will start to take a somewhat more regular, routine structure, and what my couples come to consider "normal" couples counseling, and the greatest benefits to your marriage, will begin to take shape from there.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I am a LLPC, which is a Michigan licensure to practice counseling. Additionally I have been practicing therapy and working in social services to help people communicate with one another for over three years. Communication and relationships are my passion.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your services? If so, please share the details here.
I charge $100 per session.
In order to avoid scattering your health history with a potentially unnecessary diagnosis and moreso to encourage your confidence I am here for your relationship, not merely to support either of you individually by taking a side, I do not charge insurance billing for services. So this will be payable directly to me via the TherapyNotes portal on which we conduct our sessions.
How did you get started in this business?
For as long as I can remember, I have always had a strong, viceral reaction to hearing someone I knew was going through a divorce. In every case, it was a difficult and trying time for the the entire family, and even for some who were simply close to the family or couple. I have also long noticed that I see relationships and communication differently than many others seem to, and I have found the insights of John Gottman's research and Julie Gottman's theoretical approach expand and compliment this intuition.
What types of customers have you worked with?
I have worked with a wide variety of clients. For a few years, I worked in social services with with homeless and low-income populations of different backgrounds, especially military veterans. I've also worked helped clients of various sexual orientations, gender identities, and non-traditional relationship structures.
What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a pro in your area of expertise?
It is important that all parties in counseling be invested in turning your relationship into a strong, mutually life-giving edifice in yourr lives, and be willing to be honest and open with each other and with your counselor about your hurts and insecurities. Both of you may not feel comfortable with the first counselor you see, so give each counselor a few sessions, and keep trying until you find the right counselor for everyone concerned.
What questions should customers think through before talking to pros about their needs?
Make sure everyone is on board and willing to really try to improve the relationship. If one partner is already mentally checked out, it will be much harder - perhaps impossible - to make significant improvement.