Evidence-Based Modalities
My therapeutic approach is grounded in research-backed methods with proven effectiveness in helping individuals, couples, and families create lasting change.
Emotionally Focused Therapy is an evidence-based approach grounded in attachment theory. It helps couples understand the deeper emotional needs driving their relationship patterns and creates new ways of responding with empathy and emotional safety. EFT focuses on repairing attachment wounds, softening defensive patterns, and creating experiences of emotional safety that rebuild trust, closeness, and long-term relational security.
What EFT Sessions Look Like
In an EFT session, we slow down the moments when conflict happens. Instead of focusing on who's right or wrong, we look at what's happening underneath: the fear of not mattering, the panic of losing connection, the loneliness of feeling unseen. I help you identify the cycle you're stuck in—the pattern where one person pursues and the other withdraws, or both shut down.
Sessions are structured but emotionally present. You'll learn to express vulnerable feelings ("I feel scared you'll leave") instead of reactive ones ("You never listen"). We practice new ways of reaching for each other, and I guide you through moments of repair in real time. It's not about fixing everything at once—it's about creating small, safe experiences of connection that rebuild trust over time.
Couples symptom-free at end of treatment
Couples significantly improve their relationship
Treatment gains maintained
Supporting Research
- Spengler, P. M., Lee, N. A., Wiebe, S. A., & Wittenborn, A. K. (2024). A comprehensive meta-analysis on the efficacy of emotionally focused couple therapy. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 13(2), 81-99.
- Beasley, C. C., & Ager, R. (2019). Emotionally focused couples therapy: A systematic review of its effectiveness over the past 19 years. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 16(2), 144-159.
- Tseng, C. F., et al. (2024). Exploring the effectiveness of emotionally focused therapy. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy.
Internal Family Systems is a transformative approach that views the mind as naturally composed of multiple sub-personalities or "parts," each with its own perspective, feelings, and role. IFS helps individuals access their core Self—a state of calm, clarity, compassion, and confidence—to heal wounded parts and restore internal harmony. This approach is particularly effective for trauma, anxiety, depression, and complex relational patterns.
What IFS Sessions Look Like
IFS sessions are exploratory and compassionate. We identify the parts of you that show up in difficult moments—the inner critic, the protector who pushes people away, the young part that feels abandoned. Instead of trying to eliminate these parts, we get curious about them: What are they protecting? What do they need? What burdens are they carrying?
Through guided dialogue, you'll learn to access your Self—the wise, grounded center that can lead your internal system with compassion. We work to unburden parts carrying shame, fear, or pain from past experiences, allowing them to take on healthier roles. IFS creates profound shifts in how you relate to yourself and others, offering deep healing for trauma and longstanding patterns that feel impossible to change.
Clients complete the full treatment protocol
Participants recommend IFS therapy
Reduction in PTSD severity and trauma symptoms
Supporting Research
- Shadick, N. A., et al. (2021). A randomized controlled trial of an internal family systems-based psychotherapeutic intervention on outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis. The Journal of Rheumatology, 48(7), 1009-1016.
- Hodgdon, H. B., et al. (2016). Internal family systems therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder among female survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 17(4), 454-468.
- IFS Institute. Research and evidence base for Internal Family Systems therapy.
The Gottman Method is a research-based approach developed by Drs. John and Julie Gottman after studying over 3,000 couples. It focuses on building friendship, managing conflict constructively, and creating shared meaning in relationships. The method uses assessment tools and structured interventions to help couples strengthen their emotional connection and improve communication patterns.
What Gottman Sessions Look Like
Gottman sessions are practical and skill-focused. We start with an assessment to understand your relationship's strengths and challenges—what's working, what's breaking down, and what patterns predict trouble. Then we build specific tools: how to start difficult conversations without triggering defensiveness, how to repair after a fight, how to turn toward each other instead of away.
You'll leave sessions with concrete homework—exercises to practice at home, questions to ask each other, ways to build daily connection. The Gottman Method is structured and directive. It's less about exploring deep emotions and more about changing behaviors that erode trust and replacing them with habits that strengthen your bond. It works especially well for couples who want clear, actionable steps.
Success rate in rebuilding trust post-infidelity
Accuracy in predicting relationship outcomes
Stability in couples' interaction patterns
Supporting Research
- Davoodvandi, M., Abbasi, M., & Nejad, S. N. (2018). Examining the effectiveness of Gottman couple therapy on improving marital adjustment and couples' intimacy. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 12(2), e6544.
- Irvine, T. J., et al. (2024). A pilot study examining the effectiveness of Gottman method couples therapy over treatment-as-usual approaches for treating couples dealing with infidelity. The Family Journal.
- The Gottman Institute. (2015). The empirical basis for Gottman method couples therapy.
In addition to the primary modalities above, I integrate other evidence-based approaches as appropriate for each client's unique needs:
- •Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) - Emotion regulation and distress tolerance
- •Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) - Changing thought patterns and behaviors
- •Motivational Interviewing - Supporting change readiness
- •Trauma-Focused Therapy - Processing traumatic experiences
- •Family Systems Therapy - Understanding relational dynamics
- •Structural Family Therapy - Reorganizing family hierarchies