A place for every voice
More understanding.
Room for each other.
When the same tensions keep returning, it can be hard to hear what each person is trying to say. Family therapy offers space to slow down, understand the pattern, and find another way through.
You may be navigating a transition, feeling distant, or hoping everyday life can feel less strained. We can begin with what matters to your family.
How we work together
A family is more
than its conflicts.
I’ll help make room for each person’s experience, notice the patterns between you, and practice conversations with more care.
We’ll work at a pace that respects your family, with room for differences and small steps toward connection.
What can we bring to therapy?
You don’t need a crisis or a shared explanation of what’s wrong. We can explore communication difficulties, repeated conflict, emotional distance, parenting challenges, or changing family roles.
There is also room for grief, separation, remarriage, adolescence, and the effects of trauma, addiction, or a mental health crisis on family relationships.
What happens in our sessions?
We begin by hearing what brings you here, each person’s perspective, and what you hope might change. I’ll pay attention to the strengths already present as well as the places where you feel stuck.
Sessions may include the whole family or smaller combinations, such as parents or siblings. We can practice listening, expressing needs, setting boundaries, and working through disagreements. Between sessions, we may agree on a small conversation or reflection to try.
What guides my approach?
Family Systems Theory helps us look at how family members influence one another. Emotionally Focused Therapy and humanistic, person-centered principles inform our attention to emotion, attachment, and each person’s experience.
We’ll explore the pattern together, without assigning one person the role of “the problem.” The work combines understanding with practical ways to respond differently.
More about my approachIs there room for our kind of family?
My practice welcomes families with LGBTQIA+ members, blended families, co-parenting relationships, and multigenerational households. Your family’s structure, identities, and lived experiences belong in the conversation.
For parents, we can explore children’s emotional needs alongside your own reactions, hopes, and boundaries. Together, we can work toward clearer communication and a more connected parent-child relationship.
A place to begin
You don’t have to find
the way forward alone.
If you’re considering family therapy, you’re welcome to get in touch. We can talk about what brings you here and whether working together feels like a good fit.
Family therapy in Santa Barbara · Online sessions throughout California