Couples & Relationship Therapy
Reconnect, heal, and love better. A psychodynamic and emotionally focused approach to the patterns keeping you stuck.
Something has shifted, and you're not sure how to find your way back to each other. Maybe you're having the same fight on repeat and neither of you feels heard. Maybe the distance has been building so slowly you're not sure when it started. Maybe trust has been broken and you don't know yet whether it can be repaired. Whatever brought you here, this is a space to look honestly at what's happening between you and to start moving toward something better.
What brings couples in
Couples come to me with all kinds of concerns: communication that keeps breaking down, intimacy that's faded, trust that's been damaged, conflict that turns destructive, and the slow drift that happens when life gets busy and connection gets pushed aside. Some couples are in crisis. Others just sense that something is off and want to address it before it gets worse.
I'll get to know you as a couple and help bring clarity to what you both need, whether that means finding your way back to each other or deciding to part with intention and care.
How we approach the work
I use Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Gottman techniques, and a psychodynamic lens, drawing on whatever combination fits where you are. The goal isn't to teach you communication scripts. It's to understand the cycle you're caught in, the pattern of pursuit and withdrawal or escalation and shutdown that leaves you both feeling alone, and to interrupt it at the level where it actually lives.
That means slowing down. Looking at what's underneath the surface argument: the fear, the longing, the unmet need that's harder to say out loud. Most couples are fighting about something real. They just haven't found the language for it yet.
What to expect
Sessions are for both of you, together. We'll spend time understanding each of your inner worlds as well as the dynamic between you. Some of the work will feel like relief. Some of it will be uncomfortable. Both are signs that something real is happening.
Couples therapy tends to move faster than individual therapy when both people are engaged. You don't need to be on the same page about everything to start. You just need to be willing to show up.
Who this is for
Couples who are stuck in the same arguments and want a way out. Couples who have grown distant and want to close the gap. Couples navigating betrayal, major transitions, or a loss of shared meaning. Couples who are generally doing okay and want to invest in a stronger foundation before things get harder.
I see couples in Issaquah, Sammamish, North Bend, Snoqualmie, and across the Eastside. Telehealth is available throughout Washington. The free 15-minute call is a good place to start.
Questions about couples therapy
Mostly the name. Couples therapy, marriage counseling, relationship counseling: they all describe the same work, a therapist helping two people understand what's happening between them and change it. You don't need to be married, and you don't need to be in crisis. I work with married couples, partners, and people at every stage of commitment.
Yes. It's very common for one person to arrive more ready than the other, and skepticism is welcome in my office. Your partner doesn't need to believe in therapy for it to work. They just need to be willing to show up and be honest. Often the more reluctant partner ends up getting the most out of it once they see the work is about understanding, not blame.
It depends on what you're working through and how long the pattern has been running. Some couples feel meaningful shifts within eight to twelve sessions. Deeper work, like rebuilding after a betrayal, usually takes longer. Couples work tends to move faster than individual therapy when both people are engaged, and we'll check in regularly about how it's going.
Both, along with a psychodynamic lens. Emotionally Focused Therapy helps us understand the cycle you're caught in and the needs underneath it. Gottman work offers concrete, research-backed tools for conflict and connection. I draw on whatever combination fits your relationship rather than running you through a standard program.
Yes. Infidelity and other breaches of trust are among the most common reasons couples come in, and repair is possible. It takes honesty from both people and a willingness to look at what the betrayal meant, not just what happened. Some couples come out of this work stronger than before. Others find the clarity to part with intention. Either way, you don't have to navigate it alone.
I'm an out-of-network provider, so I don't bill insurance directly. I provide superbills, which are detailed receipts you can submit to your insurer. One thing worth knowing: many plans don't reimburse couples counseling on its own, since insurers typically require an individual diagnosis. Call your insurance and ask about your specific benefits so you know what to expect.
In person at my office in Issaquah, an easy drive from Sammamish, North Bend, Snoqualmie, and most of the Eastside. I also offer video sessions to couples anywhere in Washington State. The free 15-minute call is a good way to find out whether we might be a fit.
Hi, I'm Julie.
I've spent over nine years doing this work, and my love for it has only grown. What most of us are searching for, beneath the anxiety and the conflict and the numbness, is connection. To ourselves, to the people we love, to something that actually feels true.
I bring my full self into the room. I'm direct when that helps, and I know how to be quiet when that's what matters. I'm not here to fix you. You're not broken. I'm here to help you see yourself more clearly and trust what you find.
I live in North Bend and practice in Issaquah. I show up in this community the same way I show up in the room with you. Present, honest, and all in.
MA, Marriage & Family Therapy · Hope International University
BA, Psychology · Vanguard University
Trained in: Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Psychodynamic Therapy, Attachment Theory, EMDR, Gottman Method
You've been thinking about this long enough.
Schedule a free 15-minute call. Share what's bringing you in, ask whatever you want to ask, and see if it feels like a good fit.