Parenting as a partnership
Caring for children can leave little room to care for each other. You may agree on what matters to your family and still feel divided over routines, discipline, responsibilities, or how much each person carries. Parenting counseling for couples offers a place to understand those tensions and work on your partnership.
I’m Jamie Fortin, LMFT. I offer couples and co-parenting support in Santa Barbara and online throughout California. We can begin with the conversations that keep getting stuck and the changes you hope to make together.
When parenting puts pressure on your relationship
A disagreement about bedtime or screen time may also carry a feeling of being unsupported, criticized, or left alone with the work. In sessions, we can make room for both the practical problem and each person’s experience of it.
You might want help with dividing responsibilities, discussing different parenting styles, making decisions together, or finding time for connection beyond your roles as parents. We can also explore how your own childhood experiences influence what feels important or difficult now.
Making the shared load visible
The work of parenting includes planning, remembering, anticipating, and following through. Some of that work is easy to miss. We can talk about how it is distributed, what each person needs, and which agreements feel realistic for your family.
The aim is to develop clearer conversations and workable commitments. We’ll check whether those commitments help and adjust them when circumstances change.
Different styles, shared decisions
You do not need identical instincts to parent together. We can explore the values beneath your differences and practice discussing a decision without dismissing each other. That may include naming priorities, agreeing on boundaries, or planning how to revisit an issue after emotions settle.
Drawing on the Gottman Method and Emotionally Focused Therapy, I help couples notice familiar conflict patterns, express needs more clearly, and make room for repair. Your relationship and circumstances guide how we use these approaches.
Co-parenting through separation or family change
For separated parents, the focus may be communication about the children, clearer boundaries, and more predictable arrangements. Reconciliation does not have to be the goal. Blended families and other family transitions may bring their own questions about roles, expectations, and belonging.
We’ll clarify what you are seeking from counseling and whether working together is appropriate. This work does not provide legal advice or decide custody arrangements.
Which kind of support fits?
This article focuses on the relationship between partners or co-parents. If you want space to explore your own stress, reactions, or expectations as a parent, individual parenting counseling may be a better starting point. You can also read about parenting teens or LGBTQIA+ parenting and family support.
A place to begin
You can bring a specific disagreement or simply a sense that parenting has pulled you apart. Together, we can explore how to support your children while making more room for each other.
Jamie Fortin, LMFT · California LMFT #136703. In-person therapy in Santa Barbara and online sessions throughout California.
More about couples therapy · What to expect, rates, and payment · Contact Jamie