Couples Therapy in Los Angeles & Surrounding Areas
Most couples wait too long to seek help, hoping things will fix themselves. But some issues don’t resolve with time alone. Problems with communication issues are about the dynamic in your relationship. If your relationship feels stuck or strained, it’s time to stop avoiding the hard conversations and start addressing the dynamic between you with a couples therapist who can help mediate the conversation and point out where things are going wrong.
Couples Therapy Helps
Persistent Areas of Conflict: Disagreements are inevitable, but when they become chronic, they can erode communication and breed resentment. Constant arguments, "fighting dirty," or saying things you regret signal a deeper issue in your dynamic that we can work to resolve.
Major Life Transitions or Life Decisions: Big questions like whether to get married, have children, or relocate for work can feel paralyzing. Therapy provides a space to tackle these decisions together with clarity and respect, ensuring you're aligned in your choices.
Mental Health Challenges in the Relationship: When mental health issues affect one or both partners, the strain on the relationship can be significant. This isn’t about blame—it’s about finding tools and strategies to stay connected and resilient as a team.
Sexual desire and physical intimacy: Sexual struggles can disrupt trust and connection in profound ways. Whether it's mismatched desire or difficulty communicating sexual needs, we’ll explore what’s getting in the way and work toward rebuilding intimacy that feels fulfilling for both partners.
Infidelity and issues with trust: Betrayal shakes the foundation of any relationship. Therapy offers a supportive environment to process infidelity, rebuild trust, and decide how to move forward—whether that means healing together or parting ways.
Relationship ambivalence: Uncertainty about staying together can feel heavy and isolating. Therapy helps you explore whether reconciliation is possible or whether it's time to move on, ensuring both partners feel heard and understood in the process.
What to Expect in Couples Therapy
Couples therapy begins with clarity: what’s brought you here, and what do you want to change? Both of you will have space to speak openly about your experiences, frustrations, and desires, laying the groundwork for meaningful progress.
My approach is direct, compassionate, and collaborative. While mediating the conversation, I work to provide insight on what’s really happening in your dynamic and what each of you can do to make meaningful changes in your relationship.
Here’s what our work together will focus on:
Understanding Your Dynamic: Every relationship has patterns of communication, behavior and emotions. We’ll identify the roles you each play and how those roles shape your connection—consciously or not—so you can start engaging with each other more intentionally.
Meditating Conflict: A third person inherently changes the relationship dynamic. As a third party, I can disrupt unhelpful patterns and offer fresh perspectives that make space for more productive conversations.
Asking difficult questions: The tough topics—love, sex, trust, resentment, divorce—often stay buried. By making these topics more explicit, there is more capacity for open communication and learning one another’s thoughts, preferences, boundaries and unmet needs.
Breaking Harmful Cycles: Relationships thrive on understanding consequences. Therapy clarifies how specific behaviors lead to consequences. For example, “If you keep pushing for sex, I’ll keep pulling away,” or “If I feel unsupported at home, I’ll keep resenting you.” Therapy makes these dynamics explicit so you can choose different behaviors and better outcomes.
Identifying underlying vulnerable feelings and needs: Beneath most conflict lies unspoken feelings and unmet needs. By exploring those vulnerable places, we’ll work to deepen emotional connection, challenge limiting beliefs, and build on your relationship’s inherent strengths.
Improving your sex life: We’ll dive into what’s really happening—both in and out of the bedroom. This means unpacking unspoken expectations, exploring turn-ons and turn-offs, and addressing what’s keeping you disconnected. Together, we’ll work on fostering intimacy that feels authentic, exciting, and deeply connected, so your physical and emotional closeness becomes something you both look forward to.
Couples Therapy in Los Angeles, California
Couples therapy isn’t about sitting back—it’s an active, dynamic process. Taking this step can feel daunting, but the results are worth it. Most couples leave therapy feeling more connected, understood, and capable of meeting each other’s needs. When you apply the skills we work on together, you’ll find not only a stronger relationship but also greater confidence in yourself.
I offer in-person sessions in West Los Angeles and virtual sessions for clients anywhere in California. If you’re ready to make meaningful changes in your relationship, contact me today to get started.
Starting Couples Therapy in Los Angeles
My approach to couples therapy is designed to help couples improve their relationship dynamic. It’s not about blame. It’s about working together to restore connection within your relationship. I provide couples therapy in Playa Vista and the surrounding areas and couples counseling online throughout California. I also offer individual therapy sessions. Contact me today to get started.
FAQs
Does Couples Therapy Work? How often is Couples Therapy Successful?
Success in couples therapy does not necessarily mean that the couple remains together after therapy. Couples therapy is about making more conscious choices in your relationship. This can mean making more conscious efforts to improve your relationship or it can mean, after careful deliberation, realizing the relationship will not work for either of you. In our sessions together, we will work on identifying strengths and areas for growth, building opportunities to strengthen your bond, and asking the important questions you’ve been struggling to find and resolve on your own.
Can Couples Therapy be Covered by Insurance?
Many insurance companies reimburse for couples therapy under CPT code 90847 (Conjoint therapy with patient present), but this requires diagnosing at least one member of the couple with a disorder that is the focus of treatment. Since every situation is unique, I encourage you to contact me today to learn about your options regarding entering couples therapy at my Los Angeles location.
What are the Statistics for Couples Therapy Having Positive Effects?
Today, both in-person couples therapy and couples counseling online are very common; about 50% of couples have participated at some point. Of those couples who have received therapy, as many as 70% have successfully improved their relationships.
Can Couples Therapy Make Things Worse?
Major studies of people receiving couples therapy show that people are generally better off receiving couples therapy than not getting help. Couples therapy is not a cure-all nor a promise to keep the relationship together — but it is a good way of getting help to make more conscious decisions in your relationship. When couples therapy is done right, it offers a multitude of benefits and skills that couples can learn if they want to keep their relationship on track far into the future. I have years of experience in couples therapy in Los Angeles, and many couples from all different walks of life have left my therapy sessions with renewed love and respect for each other.