Psychoanalytic couples therapy provides a space where you can say what you cannot say elsewhere. By giving voice to what is difficult or impossible to say, it becomes possible to find a way forward in your relationship.

Couples can get stuck in a pattern that causes suffering. Even though they think they understand it, the pattern persists. Something unknown gets repeated. Defensiveness, dissatisfaction, disappointment, criticism, and hiding from the truth all make it difficult to move forward. Oftentimes couples are not able to speak about what needs to be said—their pain, desire, anger, sexuality. Whether your relationship challenges have been ongoing or have showed up suddenly in the face of life circumstances, the work aims at finding more freedom and desire.

Psychoanalytic couples therapy takes the singularity of each couple into account, helping couples find what it is that they truly want in their relationship. It is a unique form of therapy that proceeds on a case-by-case basis. It considers the unconscious, helping couples to hear what it is they are saying. Unlike other treatment modalities, it does not offer a one-size-fits all approach, espouse relationship norms, or provide standardized advice. The work is full of surprise as it opens up new ways of being in a relationship.

I work with couples with a wide range of genders, sexualities, and forms of commitment. I see couples in person at my office in North Berkeley and over Zoom.