Couples Therapy

Developing the skills to attune and respond to you and your partner's feelings, needs and requests for connection is available to all who wish to learn and grow together. Past injuries to the health of your relationship can be resolved while regaining clarity in moving forward together (or apart) with compassion and commitment.  The obstacles in the way of a secure relationship are the path to what you seek.

Considering Couples Therapy:

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Whether you are just beginning your journey together, ready and willing to co-create a loving relationship at new levels of intimacy and interdependence, or are considering dissolving your commitment to each other, couples therapy offers an opportunity to foster the skills necessary to build the partnership or marriage that you long for, or to uncouple with compassion and integrity.

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I bring together the tools of psychodynamic, cognitive, somatic, attachment and trauma informed practice in my work with couples. The models of couples therapy that I draw from most include Sue Johnson's Emotionally Focused Couple's Therapy, the Gottman Institute, Esther Perel, Terry Real and the Hendricks Institute.

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In our work together, we can focus on a broad spectrum of challenges and skills, including:

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• ​​Soothing & directing the energy and wisdom of powerful emotions in the service of your growth and the intimacy within your relationship.

• Cultivating and strengthening the secure base of healthy attachment within and between you.

• ​Enhancing executive functioning as a couple - skills which include organization, focus, time management, delayed gratification, impulse control and problem solving.

• ​Honoring and integrating grief and loss which deepens intimacy and allows you both to reenter the fullness of your life as individuals and a couple.

• ​Replacing addictive and compulsive distractions from your relationship distress with healthy conflict resolution skills, intimacy and interdependence.

• Healing the pain of broken agreements and vows. Renegotiating agreements and rebuilding trust.

• ​Navigating powerful life transitions together with greater ease and confidence.

• ​Learning to address and soothe your partner's distress without abandoning your own legitimate needs.

• ​Clarifying your unique sexuality, gender and relationship structures and harnessing this life force energy for the sacred purpose of conscious union and creativity.

• Supporting one another's purposeful path with joy and co-creativity. ​

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Duration of Couples Therapy:

I offer one time consultations, short-term and long-term couples therapy.  Together we can decide the duration and frequency of sessions to meet your goals.  Resistance to change can arise and following through with therapy is even more important when it does.  

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Investing in Your Wellness:

​Receiving the support of a devoted, experienced and well trained therapist requires an investment on your part.  The biggest investment is your openness and willingness to grow beyond your current level of development as individuals and as a couple.

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It also requires an energy exchange of a set fee for the time we share together.  I offer invoices for HSA and Flex Spending accounts and am an approved provider for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan PPO plans. Contact me to see if you and your partner or spouse are eligible to use your insurance benefits for family therapy. 

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How We Begin:

First, we need to check in by phone before we schedule a consultation.  We will briefly assess if I am the best practitioner for you to work with, because you deserve that.   If I have the skills to serve your needs, I will send you a few intake forms to complete before our first session begins. If you are not able to download attachments, please arrive 30 minutes early to complete these forms.

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All Couples Are Welcome:

Interracial, interfaith, multicultural and LBGTQ couples are welcome.  Couples with a big age gap between them are welcome.  Couples who are some shade of monogamous or some flavor of polyamorous are welcome.  All couples are welcome.

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Level of CAre:

Note:  my practice can not meet the high acuity needs of couples where one or both people are actively suicidal, homicidal, have untreated substance addiction, are engaged in a domestic violence situation, have needed psychiatric hospitalization in the past year or are seeking a legal evaluation for custody.  

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Policies at Spirit Moves LLC: 

For more information about policies at Spirit Moves and what to bring with you to the first session, visit the First Session page.

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“Underneath all the distress, partners are asking each other:  Can I count on you?  Are you there for me?  Will you respond to me when I need, when I call? Do I matter to you? Am I valued and accepted by you? Do you need me, do you rely on me?”  

Dr. Sue Johnson

Common growth edges: 

Affairs

Blended Family Concerns

Bonding & Attachment Styles

Building & Sharing Resources

Career Transitions

Co-parenting 

Commitment & Fidelity Agreements

Communication & Conflict Resolution

Family of Origin Issues

Gender 

Grief & Loss

Interfaith, Intercultural & 

Interracial Diversity

Intimacy & Vulnerability

Life Cycle Transitions

Phases of Relationship

Separation and/or Divorce

Sexuality & Erotic Intelligence

Substance & Process Addictions

Relationship Structures

Trauma Resolution

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Consultations:

$150 | 1 hour

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Ongoing SESSIONS:
$130 | 50 minutes

longer and shorter sessions are available

and are prorated by the minute

YOUR RELATIONSHIP IS WORTH 

THE INVESTMENT!

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Resources:

• Love Sense by Sue Johnson

• Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson

• Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel 

• The State of Affairs by Esther Perel

• Rekindling Desire by Esther Perel

• Not Just Friends by Glass & Staeheli

• Lasting Love by Gay & Kathlyn Hendricks

• Conscious Loving by Gay & Kathlyn Hendricks

• The Relationship Ride by Julia Colwell

• The Relationship Skills Workbook by Julia Colwell 

• The New Rules of Marriage by Terrence Real

• The Relationship Cure by John Gottman

• The Art & Science of Love by the Gottmans

• Gottman Card Decks App (free)

• Wired for Love by Stan Tatkin

• Wired for Dating by Stan Tatkin

• Relationship Alive Podcast by Neil Sattin

• The Shift Deck by D Chapman & G Clayton