Couples Counseling Therapists in Santa Cruz, CA

Life can be challenging and it may be difficult trying to manage it alone. Not everyone has someone safe to talk to without judgement or experiencing shame and/or guilt. Do you have a specific issue you want to tackle? Are you experiencing patterns you just want to break free from? Having someone to explore the origins of your struggles/challenges can be liberating. Do you need life skills, communication skills, strategies to manage your mind, mood management techniques to make life more manageable? Being human isn't easy and having someone to process with you w/unconditional regard and acceptance can be freeing and life changing.

Medicare clients accepted for teletherapy (telephone, Facetime, Zoom) . I treat trauma, anxiety, depression, and life transitions. We carefully work through crises and both short and long term issues by using skillful means and tapping into your inner resources.

Therapy can help you find balance, connection, and fulfillment. In order to do so, I believe it's important that we acknowledge the shadow elements of life-the challenges that cause us pain, confusion, and block us from finding a sense of harmony and well-being. I collaborate with you in navigating the shadows and the more buried aspects of your life in order to develop a deeper capacity for balance, personal growth, and healing. To find out more about who I am, how I work, and if I might be the right therapist for you, consider visiting santacruztherapy.org

Finding the right therapist can feel challenging, whether you’re looking for yourself, your child, or as a couple. I'm here to hold a welcoming, exploratory space where you can develop a deeper understanding of yourself and feel more confident. I specialize in working with kids, teens, couples, and the LGBTQ+ community. I have an accepting, collaborative approach and through out work together, my clients learn to identify and express their emotions and develop healthy coping skills. As a result, their self esteem and communication improve and they feel less overwhelmed.

I am an experienced therapist who has the natural ability to make almost anybody feel comfortable. I have a compassionate and relaxed personal style, which can be good potential fit for therapeutic work with people of many ages and backgrounds. Along with working with individuals, I enjoy working with the interpersonal where there is often powerful opportunities for change. I work well with couples, because I am able to see multiple points of view and I have a disarming presence, which makes me easily approachable.

Therapy is an opportunity to explore and make better sense of your thoughts, feelings, and emotions and how you may be affected by these components in different parts of your life in a safe non-judgmental space. It is a chance to uncover more about yourself, the patterns that you may have, and how your past may impact how you interact with situations, events, and others. Therapy also can be a time to heal and explore new ways of thinking and being. My approach to therapy is collaborative. I’ll encourage active engagement to help uncover your strengths and resiliencies.

It is not easy to look for help. Especially when we feel overwhelmed with pain, suffering, and confusion. We all deserve to enjoy life, healthy sexuality and nurturing relationships. You are not alone in this journey of finding the best way to be a human being and be free of unnecessary suffering. I believe you have the answers you are looking for and I can support you in accessing your own wisdom to re-design your path and life in the way you need and want now.

Sliding scale and some pro bono sessions for front line workers. Video and phone are currently available. Feelings of anxiety and stress need support at this time. My approach is based on the belief that you are naturally intelligent and resourceful. Connect to strengths within you. The quality of your relationship with yourself and others leads to greater freedom, clarity, and peace. Free yourself from stress and conflict that so often occurs in relationships and work. Compassion, insight, and intuition represent my style. Building inner resources and tools to manage emotions improve professional and personal relationships.

I provide individual, couples, and group therapy to a wide array of individuals with varying issues they are seeking support around. I support clients in developing self-awareness, increasing self-esteem, and managing anxiety in their lives. My clients often report goals of increased feelings of life satisfaction, more fulfilling relationships, and confidence in themselves. My clients are looking to feel self-assured in their decisions and direction in life. I offer a secure, supportive environment where my client's whole selves, as well as their goals are accepted without judgement, but with curiosity and compassion.

Life is to enjoy and a little help can make the difference you never imagined possible. When we reach the tipping point in our lives it's hard to trust that talking to someone might help. But it can. I have more than twenty years experience helping individuals, couples, teens and families improve. Using principles and techniques of Energy Psychology, EMDR, EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) and my own multidimensional approach which takes into account mind, body and spirit, we can create the change you need.

Life can feel overwhelming, hopeless at times, full of stress, anxiety and loneliness. My approach with my clients' is to create a safe and comfortable environment to share these experiences without fear of judgement. I have deep empathy for those who are challenged by their current life circumstances and have a desire to make changes to better themselves. I work to help my clients' gain insight into their behaviors and develop alternatives ways of coping that feel more honest and productive. I find that when clients' can access their strengths within themselves, they are more able to facilitate healing.

Are you stuck in emotional pain, numbed out, or in an unsatisfying relationship? We all learn patterns of relating to ourselves, others, and the world that may no longer work. This can show up as relationship conflict or distance, depression, anxiety, grief, emptiness, confusion, or a lack of direction and meaning. You want more joy, ease and satisfying relationships, with greater self connection and ability to ride the waves of life. Through courageous exploration, connection, healing and behavioral work, we nurture your powerful, true Self from which you are able to live your best life and contribute your unique gifts.

In my work with individuals, couples, children, teens and families I strive to create a warm, nurturing and compassionate environment for personal exploration and healing. In this space all parts of you are welcome. I see therapy as a collaboration where you and I partner to create an achievable plan to improve your relationships, increase your sense of vitality, and work towards your personal goals. In my work, I have witnessed how life's challenges can create emotional scars that then consciously or unconscious run our lives. These scars can manifest as a variety of mental health and relational issues.

We all go through difficult times and it takes courage to reach out for support. You may be wondering how therapy can help you. Perhaps you want support with a challenging issue, to relieve anxiety, recover from trauma or to change patterns that no longer work for you. You may want to improve a relationship or get support with parenting or working through loss. You can make changes, break patterns, and heal. Therapy is a place to get support, to explore new strategies for coping better with life, and to view things from an expanded perspective. Our challenges present us with opportunities to heal as well as grow.

Life can be hard but I'm guessing you already knew that.  All the hard stuff can leave us feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, or sad. Sometimes life's challenges become too difficult to overcome alone. Finding a safe and collaborative place to explore and address what is troubling you is the first step toward healing.  Perhaps you are struggling with anxiety, depression, grief, or challenges within a relationship. While there are no guarantees of what you will experience in therapy, research shows that therapy helps people. It works. Psychotherapy can elevate feelings of self worth, purpose, and improve your overall quality of life.

There are many reasons why a person, a couple, or a family might find themselves feeling stuck, down, disconnected, overwhelmed, or anxious. A significant portion of my education and training is based around helping clients reduce or resolve symptoms associated with their challenges. However, I find that helping clients identify the root of their obstacles—in addition to cultivating skills and strategies to work towards a strong mental and emotional sense of well-being and developing strong connected relationships—is as important as attending to mental, emotional, and relational symptoms.

As a holistic somatic therapist, I hold a non-pathologizing perspective, emphasizing your innate wholeness and capacity for healing. My approach to therapy is direct, spontaneous and playful, focusing on experiential healing. Rooted in an eco-psycho-social context threaded with compassion and mindfulness, I focus on supporting adult individuals and couples in working through trauma, anxiety, shame, grief, co-dependence, and ADHD patterns to achieve a sense of secure connection both internally/externally. Through emphasizing felt sense resources, I can help you gain insight into the intricate dynamics of your process and behaviors.

Having relationship issues? I am here to help! I am Level 2 Gottman Method Couples Certified. Let me evaluate your communication and share effective tools that will help your relationship to thrive!

Entering into therapy can be a big decision and confusing process. I offer direction that can help you determine your best course for meaningful and effective change. Through attentiveness, compassion, and collaboration, I focus on helping individuals, couples, & children gain awareness of themselves, and provide an avenue that leads toward personal exploration and healing.