Couples & Relationship Counseling

Those who are closest to us are also those who can have the most power to hurt and challenge us. These are also the relationships where we can learn and grow the most.

You may love one another deeply and still find yourselves caught in the same painful conversations. One person may pursue while the other withdraws, or small disagreements may quickly become criticism, defensiveness, shutdown, or distance. You may keep trying to communicate differently, only to find yourselves repeating the same pattern when emotions run high.

Perhaps something significant has shaken the relationship, such as betrayal or broken trust, a major life transition, differences in culture or family expectations, fading intimacy, or uncertainty about whether a relationship can continue.

In couples & relationship counseling, I help create a safe, nonjudgmental space where loved ones can slow down, feel heard, and explore what lies beneath the surface of recurring tensions. Together, we work to understand and unravel accumulated hurts and disappointments, respond to one another with greater curiosity, honesty, and care, and transform conflict into opportunities for deeper connection and growth.

In addition to intimate partners, I also work with adult family dyads, such as parents and adult children or adult siblings, who are seeking support with communication, relationship repair, or navigating important transitions together.

Together, we may work on:

  • Improving communication and learning to listen with curiosity rather than defensiveness

  • Navigating differences in values, culture, family expectations, and/or life goals

  • Rebuilding trust after betrayal or disconnection

  • For intimate partners, rekindling intimacy, closeness, and joy

  • Making intentional decisions about the future of the relationship

  • Co-creating compassionate, meaningful, and intentional transitions out of relationship and into new beginnings

I also have particular passion and experience working with intercultural, mixed immigration status, Asian, and BIPOC couples at all stages, whether you are dating, in a long-term partnership, seeking pre-marital counseling, married, or considering separation/divorce and wanting to do so with care and intentionality.

My Integrative Approach & Background

My approach is collaborative, relational and tailored to the people and relationship in front of me. Some of the approaches below are designed specifically for intimate partners, while others can support communication, repair, and growth across many kinds of adult relationships.

  • Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) — supporting couples in recognizing the cycles that keep them stuck, softening patterns of defensiveness or withdrawal, and reaching for one another with more vulnerability, care, and emotional safety.

  • Intimacy From the Inside Out (IFIO) — helping each person develop greater awareness of the emotions, needs, and protective responses that shape how they relate to one another, creating more space for presence and connection.

  • The Gottman Method — helping intimate partners strengthen communication and friendship, navigate conflict more constructively, and deepen fondness and connection.

  • Solution-Focused Therapy — helping people stay forward-looking, clarify shared goals, recognize existing strengths, and identify small, practical steps toward change.

  • Discernment-Informed Counseling — a structured, short-term approach for couples at a crossroads, especially when one partner is leaning out of the relationship. This work helps couples thoughtfully explore whether to remain together, pursue separation or divorce, or commit to a defined period of couples therapy aimed at repair.

  • Restorative Justice Practices — informing how I work with repair, accountability, and rebuilding trust when harm has occurred.

  • Mediation & Non-Violent Communication — drawing on my background in mediation and conflict resolution to help people de-escalate conflict, express underlying needs, navigate differences more constructively, and approach difficult transitions with care and intentionality.

My integrative and personalized approach focuses on both healing and growth. I meet you where you are, attending to the challenges your relationship faces now, while helping you develop the skills and awareness needed to create a more intentional and connected future together.