Couples Counseling in Tampa

Most couples do not come to therapy because of one enormous problem. They come because the same argument keeps happening, in slightly different clothes, and neither person can find the exit.

I work with couples who still want this to work and are out of ideas for how.

What couples bring in

• The same fight on repeat, with no resolution and a lot of collateral damage
• Feeling more like roommates or co-managers than partners
• A breach of trust and the question of whether it can be repaired
• Mismatched needs around intimacy, and the resentment that builds around them
• Conflict about money, in-laws, parenting, or how time gets spent
• One partner considering leaving while the other is trying to hold on
• The strain of one partner’s anxiety, depression, or OCD on the relationship

How couples work goes

I am not a referee, and I am not there to determine who is right. Most conflicts that recur are not about the content of the argument — they are about a pattern that both people are participating in and neither can see from inside it. Naming that pattern is usually the first real relief.

From there the work is concrete: interrupting the cycle in real time, learning to say the vulnerable thing instead of the defended one, and repairing after ruptures rather than waiting for them to fade.

I usually start with a session together, sometimes followed by an individual session with each partner, then back to joint sessions. That structure lets me hear each person fully without either feeling ganged up on.

Vulnerability is the mechanism

Underneath most defensiveness is a fear about the relationship that has not been said out loud — that you do not matter to them, that you are failing, that you will be left. Criticism and stonewalling are what those fears look like when they cannot be spoken. Much of couples work is building enough safety for the real sentence to get said.

When couples therapy is not the right call

If there is ongoing intimate partner violence, couples therapy can be unsafe and is not appropriate. If that is your situation, please reach out individually or contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.

Licensed in four states

In person in Tampa and online throughout Florida, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Washington. For couples, both partners need to be physically located in a state where I am licensed at the time of the session.

Getting started

Either partner can reach out first — it does not need to be a joint decision to make the first call.

Request a free 15-minute consultation — or read about what to expect.