Relationship Issues Therapists in Golden Valley, MN

Do you/your child struggle with depression, anxiety, stress of a busy life, low self-esteem or relationship issues? Are you/your child experiencing difficulties at school/work or struggling with life transitions? I am here to support you in identifying goals, finding strategies to cope, and addressing these challenges. Making the decision to start your therapeutic journey is a significant decision, and I am here to guide you through every step. I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and enjoy working with clients of all ages.

Each year new research emerges highlighting the importance of intimate relationships on personal health and wellness. People who have satisfying connections with family, friends, and their community are happier, have fewer health problems, and live longer. For these reasons, I specialize in helping individuals, couples, and families improve the quality of the relationships they have with themselves and those around them. I provide practical information about intimate, long-term connection (based on current research), and offer specific strategies in response to clients' challenges and problems. My approach is collaborative, experiential, and strengths-based.

When we reach our lowest point, an encouraging hand can be a tremendously helpful thing. That is the heart and soul of the work I aim to provide. With each new year, we learn more about the important effects intimate relationships, interpersonal connections, and existential satisfaction have upon our personal health and wellness. Fulfilling connections with family, friends, and our communities often lead to improved health, happiness, and longevity.

Some people enter therapy with a specific problem they want to solve. Others are interested in achieving a broader goal such as psychological growth and understanding. I am happy to help you define and work towards a goal which best meets your needs. My specialties include stress and anxiety, depression, relationship and communication problems (eg. assertiveness, , intimacy issues, anger management) and self-esteem issues. In my work I draw from my training in cognitive-behavior therapy, family systems approaches, Ericksonian hypnosis, Buddhist psychology and mindfulness meditation, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

I believe good therapy involves having a positive healing experience that includes your whole self and can be translated to your everyday life. I utilize creative approaches along with concrete tools to assist your body, mind and spirit with building a greater sense of safety and calm, leading to growth and connection with self and others. I especially welcome families or individuals navigating growth and change; parents of children with chronic health needs; couples seeking greater connection in their relationship; or individual adults seeking body-centered care for trauma, anxiety, or depression.

I smile at the paradox that even though I'm a work in progress, with problems of my own, I can try to help others navigate the challenges they are facing. Each of us lives a unique and complex life, populated with our own ambitions, friends, routines, fears, and inherited craziness. Our lives create an epic story that continues invisibly around you with elaborate and meaningful experiences. At times we can feel stuck, unhappy, or even lost. Each time we consciously work with our pain, we are working towards a more nuanced understanding of ourselves - an understanding that is less binary and more inclusive of our humanity.

Concerns about sexual functioning and sexual pain are both more common than you may think. Your doctor might have been your first conversation about sexual functioning, and I would like to be the next. I love debunking myths we all have learned about bodies and relationships. I will work with you, challenge and support you as you create change in your life.

I specialize in anger management and relationship development. I enjoy teaching clients how to better communicate their needs and how to enhance their ability to listen and hear the needs of others as they are presented. I am a solution focused therapist. I aim to assist clients in gaining the insights and skills necessary to bring their life experience within their relationships to a positive level. I also enjoy working with survivors of abuses such as emotional, physical or sexual.

I work with clients' strengths, providing treatment for relationship issues, family dynamics, depression, anxiety, ADHD, ASD, grief and loss, life transitions, conflict resolution, self-compassion, mindfulness, communication skills, nonviolent communication (NVC), trauma, self-regulation, stress management, codependency, and climate anxiety, grief, and resiliency. I work with people indoors, outdoors, and through telehealth.

For many years I served adolescents, teens and families as a youth minister and school counselor. Since 1999 I've been helping individuals, couples and families who struggle with depression, substance abuse/addictions, relationship issues, adjusting to change, grief/loss and other concerns. I direct marriage preparation courses for engaged couples; provide marriage counseling and enrichment courses. Help adolescents, teens families, individuals, work toward wellness, growth and change. I offer a Thursday men's group focused on marriage and family relationships,

Offering Intensive Couples Therapy Weekends using the Gottman Method Couples Therapy. I help couples find healing, repair past hurts, and learn to communicate and fight better. Connection and communication off? Recently discover your partner had an affair and now you're marriage is in crisis? Going through divorce and finding yourself single again? Like my clients, you deserve to be in a relationship you feel good about. I'm passionate about working with couples and individuals to help you understand your stuck cycles and teach you the skills to get the relationship you desire.

Struggling with sexual issues can leave you feeling ashamed, anxious, depressed, and disconnected from your partner and loved ones. I help couples and individuals identify what is keeping you stuck in old patterns, behaviors and beliefs so that you can create sustainable change and build the life you want to be living. I work with couples who struggle with issues like experiencing differing levels of desire, struggling to heal from infidelity, or figuring out how to manage the effects of past trauma.

While I am a licensed psychologist, my training has centered around systems thinking and relationship issues, more specifically marriage and family therapy. As well, I have pursued the study of Jungian ideas (focus on individual strengths) so that when I am dealing with relationship issues including relationship with self, I have an inner as well as outer perspective. I have taught various courses in family therapy at two universities since the early 1980's which has solidified my own method of helping clients.

Therapy is different for everyone. I believe one of the most important aspects of successful work in therapy comes from the strength of the client/therapist relationship. The process of solving emotional and relational problems can be both intimidating, and very rewarding. I work to help individuals and couples discover their strengths and build on them. The process of change will be unique to each person, and I am honored to be on it with you.

I enjoy working with individuals experiencing life adjustments, anxiety, depression, and trauma, couples struggling with communication, infidelity, disconnection in the relationship, sexual concerns, divorce or separation, and other life events. I have a special interest in working with women in areas of self-esteem, assertiveness, sexual wellbeing, perfectionism, and co-dependency.

Looking for direction and support in a confusing and difficult world? Perhaps eating issues, trauma, relationship or occupational struggles have kept left you out of balance. You or your loved ones want to feel more calm and grounded and want to understand why you are having trouble getting there.

Scheduling individual clients only. I use a holistic and eclectic approach in therapy because I believe our mind, body, and environment impact our well-being. I want to truly learn about the life experience and driving forces for each person I work with. I specialize in relationships and trauma- childhood neglect or abuse, a family member’s death, high stress jobs (health care, first responders), infidelity and conflict, or abrupt ends or changes in relationships. My goal is not to tell you how to live your life or what to do with your relationships, it's to support you as you find a life that's fulfilling and meaningful to you.

I am a licensed psychotherapist with a concentration in trauma. I work with issues unique to people suffering the effects of complex trauma, complex childhood trauma and single incident trauma. As I have worked extensively with trauma, I have come to understand complications of trauma often show up in our lives as anxiety, depression, and relational problems. I work individually with clients within their unique family systems. I include and invite the complexity and dignity of unconventional relationship structures and affirm the challenges and joys they provide.

I specialize in working with individuals ages 15 and older experiencing grief and loss, chronic illness and medical issues including cancer, trauma and stress related issues, significant life changes, anxiety, depression, performance anxiety, relationship conflicts, and spiritual and identity concerns. My mission is to help people heal from their emotional wounds and cope with their life challenges, using creative and evidence-based approaches.