Relationship Issues Therapists in Traverse City, MI

I am a CSTIP(Certified Sex Therapy Informed Professional) and specialize in relationship and couples counseling. I work primarily with those dealing with marital, relationship and sex related concerns. I have experience working with individuals facing anxiety, depression, grief, relationship discrepancy, family disfunction and every day life obstacles. To better serve my clients, I use evidence based practices within a therapeutic setting. It is my goal to provide individual's with counseling they will enjoy, even when the situation is not preferable.

Therapy begins by building a safe and trusting relationship with the client and then addressing layers of behaviors, beliefs and perspectives that no longer serve their life. If you want a life worth living and need guidance to create the life you want, I can help. With over 14 years of experience, my greatest joy is to watch a client recognize their worth, embrace who they are, believe in their strength and recognize that life has more to offer than they could ever imagine.

We believe every person deserves to feel, heal, and evolve. In the context of warm, authentic relationships, we provide therapy based on social science research: treatments that have been proven to help people find real solutions to real problems. In our practice clients are accepted whole-heartedly and become the hero of their own stories. We provide a safe environment, affirming relationships, and science-based therapy. Clients are empowered to make meaning from trauma, compassionately reclaim their relationship with their bodies, and conquer phobias, anxiety, and depression.

My counseling practice provides services to individuals, couples, and groups. Those who seek counseling assistance often face difficult life situations that cause emotional wounds, pain, and loss of hope. As a counselor, my role is to come alongside clients to help them understand the source of the issues that they face, help them identify solutions to their problems, and to encourage them in their efforts. Reestablishing a sense of hope is a major factor in this healing process.

If you are ready to work through your baggage, in an overwhelming relationship, or are a teenager navigating the difficult school years, I invite you to take a journey towards wellness with me. We will walk together, processing intellectual, emotional, and spiritual aspects of your life, and will have an overarching goal of finding your truest and healthiest self. In the space we share together, we can cover your past, present, and look a little bit forward. I enjoy working from a Christian perspective and including spirituality as part of the path towards wholeness. Pricing of $100/session is often available, based on need.

We all want to live our best life, but sometimes anxiety, depression, or just the “stuff” in life gets in the way. Maybe you feel stuck in a job, relationship, or situation that just doesn’t bring you joy anymore. Maybe you get so worried about making a wrong choice that it's hard to make a choice at all. We all feel a little lost sometimes and just don’t know where to go from here, how to make our dreams a reality, how to feel fulfilled, how to have a purpose.

Emmy believes that your well-being relies on achieving balance in all aspects of your life. This requires a whole health approach that will serve the mind, body, and soul. Emmy specializes in trauma; specifically sexual trauma, violence trauma, relationship trauma, and family/intergenerational trauma. Her primary specializations are working with individuals with attachment style issues, relationship issues, masculine and feminine energies, sex trauma/intimacy issues, anxiety disorders, and grief.

There are times in our lives when it becomes essential for us to seek greater self-awareness and a fuller sense of meaning and purpose. Perhaps you're experiencing the end of a relationship, a major life transition, an intense period of stuckness, or frequent 3am panic that leaves you in a tailspin. Or, you might just be feeling like nothing is terribly wrong, but still not quite right. I offer support for adults 18+ who are looking for insight into their past experiences and present choices in order to craft a future that feels safe, authentic, and meaningful.

Practical, solution-focused, short-term couple counseling. Dive into your issues and get guidance from the first session. No lengthy and ineffective "intake" process that more often than not looks like this: you're talking the entire session, the therapist only listens, and then you leave without any new ideas about what to do about your problem. My approach is different: I actively lead you to identify where exactly your communication breaks down and why, and then I coach you to try something different that will shift you from bewilderment, confusion and resignation to actionable clarity.

I am dedicated to helping others navigate their complex and uncomfortable emotions and behaviors. At the core of therapy is change. Change itself can be scary, exciting and challenging. We will get through it together.

At Blue Thistle Therapy, I value holistic healing and authenticity. My practice is rooted in relationship-based counseling, and I dig deep in order to connect with the real you. I am not a “smile and nod” therapist. I believe that therapy should be challenging, and I’m here to partner with you in your journey toward positive growth.

If your relationship feels stuck, I will help you identify & change harmful patterns before you feel hopeless. We'll build on your strengths and history. Afraid of replicating your parents' marriage? We'll explore your fears, improve communication, & work toward more effective solutions. Plan to move in together? Get married? Change jobs? Have a baby? I can help you prepare now for the typical (& your unique) stressors that come with those changes instead of feeling blindsided by them & trying to pick up the broken pieces later. Communication, intimacy, & sexual satisfaction can all be strengthened with some intention & time.

“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.”-Rumi. You matter. What you think and feel matters. How you are treated matters. What you have been through matters. Perhaps you are a new mom, feeling overwhelmed and scared to admit things aren’t picture perfect. Perhaps you’re going though a hard transition, and feeling alone, lost, or confused. Maybe you’re no longer sure a relationship, or a job, is right for you, and are tired of not feeling seen or heard, valued or understood. Maybe constant worrying, or a hurtful past, is keeping you from living your life the way you want-with laughter, love, and hope.

I love the work that I do in helping people learn how to find a fresh perspective on where they are, where they want to go, and how to get there. My gift is in my ability to easily connect with people and I create an environment where we work together to get results. In addition to face-to-face counseling, I am also a certified Life Coach and Tele-Counselor which means that we can work by phone/web, if needed. I have been practicing for over 20 years working with adults, couples, families and adolescents. I opened up Grace Counseling Professionals in an effort to bring counselors together to make a difference in our community.

It is my belief that much of our pain and suffering comes from struggles within interpersonal relationships. Because of this, therapy can be an incredibly powerful tool to experience a different kind of relationship; one that is full of compassion instead of judgment, support instead of contempt, designed to empower instead of disenfranchise. I specialize in trauma, phase of life concerns, anxiety, and depression. It is important to me that we fit as a team, and I encourage conversations that improve safety and trust within our relationship.

The power to have the quality life and relationships that you desire is in your hands. It just takes courage to take the first step. If you feel lost in a maze that keeps ending up where you started, maybe you need a good guide who can help you arrive at a more satisfying destination. I can help you navigate through the challenges in life so that you end up with more positive results. ( PLEASE NOTE: I only work with individuals 20yrs+ old.)

Are you struggling to connect with your partner or feeling disconnected from yourself? Do you find it challenging to navigate intimacy, communication, or sexual concerns in your relationship? Whether you're dealing with issues related to desire, identity, or the complexities of modern relationships, I am here to help. My practice is inclusive and affirming, designed to support individuals and couples of all genders, sexual orientations, and relationship dynamics through individual and couples therapy.

"Learning, Healing, Growing" is my goal for your journey in life. I work from a Cognitive Behavorial Therapy system and take a mindfulness approach. I believe that our daily activities are based on our thinking processes. I like to teach hollistic approaches to dealing with life issues (deep breathing, mindfulness, meditation, etc.) and incorporating positive thinking into sessions. This works with many life issues: depression, stress/anxiety, emotional issues, grief, relationship issues, etc. I have experience with couples, helping to find communication errors and helping to relieve some of the issues that cause the space between two people grow larger.

Experiencing painful feelings or distress in a relationship, work, in life, perhaps along with low mood or too much tension? I am interested in your story. It is natural to feel overwhelmed at times and it is not a sign of weak character to seek help. In a safe environment, as we explore the internal conflicts and patterns that get in the way of living fully, healing and change can result. Insight can also emerge from actions taken in life - what it is that you do and how you do it - and this is also explored in therapy.