Every family has patterns

Maybe conflict in your home feels like it's always just beneath the surface — one wrong word and everything escalates. Perhaps someone has pulled away and you don't know how to reach them. Or maybe there is a transition — a divorce, a loss, a child leaving home, a new blended family — that has left everyone feeling unsteady and disconnected. Or maybe your family loves each other deeply but keeps getting stuck in the same painful cycles no matter how hard you try. Family pain is rarely about one person — It's usually about a set of patterns that everyone contributes to, often without realizing it.

How I work with families

I combine Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) with my Advanced-level training in Somatic Experiencing® to help families understand and shift the dynamics keeping them stuck.

EFFT is rooted in attachment theory — the understanding that we are fundamentally wired for connection, and that when family bonds feel unsafe or unreliable, everyone suffers. Rather than focusing on behavior management or assigning blame, EFFT helps family members understand the emotional experience and attachment needs underneath their reactions, and rebuild the sense of safety and trust that allows genuine connection to happen.

The somatic piece matters here too. Family conflict is a full-body experience — the tension in the room, the shutdown, the flood of emotion that makes it impossible to think clearly. By helping family members notice and work with their nervous system responses, we can slow down the cycles that feel out of control and create space for something new.

I work with families navigating:

• Persistent conflict, tension, or emotional volatility

• Distance or disconnection between family members

• A teenager or young adult who has withdrawn or is struggling

• The aftermath of divorce, separation, or blended family challenges

• Grief and loss affecting the whole family

• Life transitions that have disrupted the family system

• Parent-child relationship repair

• Adult children and parents working to heal longstanding wounds

Who is in the room?

Family therapy doesn't require the whole family to participate — often times the most meaningful work happens with two or three members who are struggling the most. I work with whatever configuration makes sense for your family's situation.