Therapy around life transitions can help transform fear from a paralyzing emotion into a source of motivation and growth. Rather than eliminating fear, therapy helps integrate it as a compass pointing toward what truly matters.

When grief reshapes our world, meaning and spirituality can become powerful guides toward healing. Through ritual, remembrance, and the quiet endurance of love, we learn that healing isn’t about forgetting—it’s about discovering the sacred within our sorrow.

With patience, practice, and empathy, couples can move from a cycle of avoidance and frustration to one of connection and growth. Arguments may never feel comfortable, but they can become opportunities for deeper understanding—and for building a relationship where both partners feel safe, seen, and valued.

If you’re navigating the grief of a child leaving for college, you don’t have to do it alone. As a grief therapist, I offer a compassionate space to process the mix of pride, sadness, and uncertainty that comes with this new chapter. If you’d like support in finding balance and meaning during this transition, I welcome you to reach out. Together, we can honor your grief while opening space for growth in this next season of life.

Discernment counseling, unlike the usual couples therapy that works on repairing and strengthening the relationship, is a short-term, structured process that helps partners decide whether to stay the course, separate, or commit to deeper couples therapy.

In this blog, I explain how the Gottman Method helps partners heal after infidelity. Learn the 3 phases—Atone, Attune, Attach—to rebuild trust and intimacy.

Do you and your partner have different ideas of summer fun? Whether one of you craves rest and the other wants adventure, seasonal differences can spark unexpected tension. This month’s blog explores how to navigate summer plans as a couple—with curiosity, compassion, and collaboration.

Summer travel can stir up unexpected waves of grief—especially when you’re far from familiar routines or revisiting shared memories. In this month’s blog, we explore how to honor your loss while navigating new places, and why there’s no such thing as a vacation from grief.

Every person has a unique way of feeling cared for. The key to lasting intimacy isn’t just feeling love—it’s learning how to communicate love in a way your partner can truly receive.

The end of a relationship is a deeply personal unraveling of dreams, identity, and connection—and often, trust is the deepest casualty. As a Seattle life transitions therapist I know it’s not just about the end of a relationship. It’s about what that end signals for their capacity to trust again, to be vulnerable, and to build something new.

Without a healthy perspective, couples risk making decisions out of panic, guilt, anger, or exhaustion. Discernment counseling is designed to slow the process down, not to save or end a relationship, but to help each person gain a clearer view of what has happened and what is possible.

One of the most transformative approaches to conflict is leading with compassion. Compassion doesn’t mean avoiding hard conversations or minimizing pain. Instead, it means staying connected to empathy, respect, and curiosity—even when things get messy.

Spring is often seen as a time of joy—buds on branches, longer days, and the promise of warmth returning. But if we look closer, spring isn’t just cheerful renewal. It’s also about struggle, transition, and slow emergence. It’s about things coming back to life—but not without effort.

Trust is the invisible architecture that supports every relationship. When divorce dismantles this structure, many find themselves standing in the rubble, unsure how to begin rebuilding. If you're navigating this challenging terrain, know that you're not alone, and there is a path forward.

Disagreement itself isn't harmful to relationships. In fact, the absence of conflict often signals disengagement or suppressed feelings. The real danger lies in how we express our differences. After helping couples transform destructive patterns into constructive conversations, I've identified key practices that allow partners to disagree without doing damage.

When your partner is grieving, it can be challenging to know how to offer support while navigating your own emotions. With patience, empathy, and open communication, couples can strengthen their bond and maintain connection during such a difficult time.

Social and political disruptions create what we call "collective trauma" — a shared experience of distress that ripples through entire communities. The first step toward healing is recognizing that these emotions are normal and universally experienced.

As we step into this new year, I invite you to experiment with setting intentions rather than resolutions. Consider what qualities you want to cultivate, what energy you want to bring to your relationships, and how you want to show up for yourself and others.

Remember, your relationship is the true gift—more valuable than any wrapped present under the tree. By prioritizing connection, practicing empathy, and approaching the season as a team, couples can transform potential stress into an opportunity for deeper understanding and intimacy.

Thanksgiving, a time traditionally marked by gratitude, family, and feasting, can be a bittersweet experience for those mourning a loss. The juxtaposition of joy and sorrow can be overwhelming, making it difficult to navigate the emotional landscape of the holiday season.