FAQ
Where can we connect, and when?
In person 767 Pearl Street, #220 Boulder, CO 80302
Online Available to couples throughout Colorado and nationwide.
The best first step is a free 30-minute consultation — a chance to ask questions, get a feel for the work, and find out if this is the right fit.
Schedule a Free Consultation → Or call: (720) 443-1071
What are your hours and how do we get started?
I see couples Tuesday through Thursday, 10am to 6pm, and Friday 10am to 2pm.
The best first step is a free 30-minute consultation by video. It’s a chance to talk about what’s bringing you in, ask any questions, and get a feel for whether this is the right fit.
Schedule a Free Consultation → Or call: (720) 443-1071
What is a free consultation?
A free 30-minute video call — for both partners — before we begin.
It’s not a therapy session. It’s a conversation. You share what’s bringing you in, I listen and ask a few questions, and we both get a sense of whether this is the right fit. If I think there’s a better match for you elsewhere, I’ll tell you honestly and point you in the right direction.
No pressure. No commitment. Just a real conversation to start.
What is your experience as a therapist?
My path to becoming a couples therapist wasn’t a traditional one.
Before earning my Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, I worked as a fish biologist in Alaska, a Structural Integration Practitioner, a Therapeutic Yoga Instructor, and later directed rehabilitation at a chronic pain clinic. Those experiences taught me something that continues to shape my work today: our past experiences live not only in our minds, but in our bodies and relationships.
For nearly two decades, I’ve worked exclusively with couples, helping them understand and change the patterns that create conflict, distance, and disconnection.
My advanced training includes PACT® (Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy), TCT®, AEDP®, attachment-based therapies, and trauma-informed approaches. I also maintain ongoing consultation with Dr. Stan Tatkin, founder of PACT.
What ties my work together is a simple belief: meaningful change happens when couples learn to create greater safety, trust, and connection with one another. That’s the foundation of everything I do in the therapy room.
How do I prepare for a telehealth session?
Find a private space where you won’t be interrupted. Both partners should sit together in front of the camera — the larger the screen, the better.
Make sure your internet connection is stable, your faces are well lit, and you can speak without being overheard.
That’s it. The rest is just showing up.
With whom do you work?
I work exclusively with couples, with a particular focus on midlife partners navigating the challenges and transitions that often emerge in long-term relationships.
Whether you’re married, in a committed partnership, blending families, facing an empty nest, recovering from a betrayal, or simply feeling more disconnected than you’d like, I help couples understand and change the patterns that keep them stuck.
Many of the couples I work with have built successful lives together but find themselves struggling with conflict, emotional distance, or a growing sense of disconnection.
My approach goes beyond communication skills alone, helping couples create deeper trust, emotional safety, and lasting change.
Many have tried therapy before and are looking for a more focused, in-depth approach.
Do you recommend that couples in therapy also seek individual therapy?
Sometimes, yes — and I’ll tell you directly if I think it would help.
There are moments in couples work when something surfaces that needs more space than a shared session can hold. When that happens, I’ll say so. Individual therapy running alongside couples work can deepen the process — not because the relationship isn’t the focus, but because each person brings themselves into the relationship.
That said, it’s not a requirement. Many couples do their deepest work here without individual therapy running alongside it.
What do you care about most when working with your clients?
Honest progress over comfortable sessions.
I care most about what’s actually changing — not just how the session feels in the room, but whether something is genuinely shifting between you. That means I’ll work hard to understand what’s underneath the patterns you bring in, stay curious when things get complicated, and tell you the truth about what I’m seeing even when it’s uncomfortable.
I want couples to leave this work with something real — a relationship that feels fundamentally different, not just better managed. That’s what I hold in mind from the first session to the last.
What is your education and training?
Academic background MA in Clinical Psychology, Santa Barbara Graduate Institute. BA in Biology, Wittenberg University. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Colorado. Post-graduate training from Denver Family Institute. Board Certified Coach (BCC).
PACT — Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy My primary couples therapy framework. Advanced training with founder Dr. Stan Tatkin, with whom I consult regularly. PACT works at the level of biology, attachment, and nervous system — going well beyond communication skills to help couples build secure functioning from the ground up.
AEDP — Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy A depth-oriented trauma therapy that reaches what talk therapy alone cannot.
TCT — Transformative Couples Therapy AEDP adapted specifically for couples work. I trained directly with its developer, David Mars. TCT is a therapeutic approach focused on healing complex trauma that impacts adult relationships. It posits that the longing to love and be loved is the most powerful catalyst for change, driving couples to overcome deeply ingrained “fixed and invariant reactivity” stemming from early life trauma.
Additional training Emotion-Focused Therapy, The Gottman Method, Nonviolent Communication, Sex & Intimacy, and somatic approaches that address how trauma lives in the body.
What sets this training apart isn’t the list — it’s the integration. PACT and AEDP together address both the relational and the neurobiological dimensions of couples work. That combination is why couples who have felt stuck for years begin to move.
What are your own personal experiences with therapy?
I’ve done my own work — and I think that matters.
I know what it’s like to sit in that chair. To look honestly at the patterns you’ve been carrying, understand where they came from, and choose something different. That experience doesn’t make me your therapist’s therapist — but it does mean I’m not asking you to do anything I haven’t been willing to do myself.
It takes courage to show up for this kind of work. I don’t take that lightly.
What are some of your top relationship book recommendations?
I am trained by Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT, a clinician, researcher, teacher, and developer of A Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy® (PACT). I highly recommend any of his books.
If you decide to work me I will encourage you to read or listen to one or more of these books together as a couple.
- Wired for Love (2nd edition): How Understanding Your Partner’s Brain and Attachment Style Can Help You Defuse Conflict and Build a Secure Relationship
- Your Brain on Love: The Neurobiology of Healthy Relationships
- In Each Other’s Care: A Guide to the Most Common Relationship Conflicts and How to Work Through Them
- We Do: Saying Yes to a Relationship of Depth, True Connection, and Enduring Love
- Relationship RX: Insights and Practices to Overcome Chronic Fighting and Return to Love
- Wired for Dating: How Understanding Neurobiology and Attachment Style Can Help You Find Your Ideal Mate
- Baby Bomb: A Relationship Survival Guide for New Parents
Why are your rates higher than other couples therapists?
Because the training behind this work is different — and that difference shows up in the room.
Most therapists who see couples haven’t trained specifically in couples therapy. I’ve spent years in advanced study of PACT, AEDP, and Transformative Couples Therapy (TCT) — among the most rigorous frameworks available for couples work. I consult regularly with Stan Tatkin, founder of PACT, and David Mars, founder of TCT. That level of specialization is uncommon — and it’s why couples who have felt stuck for years begin to move.
The format is also different. Sessions run 90 minutes to 3 hours — not 50 minutes. That’s not a luxury. It’s what it takes to reach the patterns driving your conflict and come back to each other safely before you leave.
If you’re comparing rates, compare the full picture — the training, the format, and the depth of work you’re investing in.
Why are couples sessions so long?
Session length here is determined by the work — not by preference or cost.
Reaching the patterns that drive your conflict takes time. Coming back to each other safely before you leave takes the rest of it. Ninety minutes is the minimum for meaningful work at this level. Two hours is often what the work requires.
Fifty-minute couples sessions don’t get you there and back. That’s why I don’t offer them.
Why do you require payment in advance?
Payment in advance is how I hold your time — and it’s also how couples hold their own commitment to the process. In my experience, couples who have made the financial investment before they arrive show up differently. It’s not just a billing policy. It’s part of how the work begins.
Do you accept insurance?
No. This is a private-pay practice. I do not bill insurance and do not provide superbills for couples work.
This is both a practical and an ethical choice. Insurance billing requires designating one partner as the “identified patient” with a clinical diagnosis. In couples therapy, the relationship is the client — not one individual — and I won’t compromise that framing to fit an insurance model.
If cost is a concern, I’m happy to talk through what the investment looks like during our free consultation.