couples therapy
Helping couples heal from infidelity, break conflict cycles, and thrive — including LGBTQ+ and ENM partnerships.
Healing from infidelity
Couples therapy for partners navigating infidelity — whether you're trying to rebuild, or trying to decide.
An affair doesn't just break trust. It breaks the story you had about your relationship — and about each other. Whether it happened recently or years ago, the weight of it is real: the hypervigilance, the grief, the anger, the desperate need to understand why.
I work with couples in the aftermath of infidelity, not to tell you what decision to make, but to help you make it clearly. Some couples rebuild something stronger. Some find a compassionate ending. Both are valid. Both deserve support.
What Infidelity Recovery Therapy Looks Like
Recovery from infidelity has distinct stages, and trying to rush them usually backfires. Here's how I approach it:
Stage One: Stabilization
The immediate aftermath is often chaotic and raw. We work on managing the acute distress — setting some ground rules, reducing harm, and helping both partners feel safe enough to stay in the room.
Stage Two: Attune
This is the hardest part, and the most important. We look at what happened, what it meant, and what vulnerabilities or patterns in the relationship may have contributed — without excusing or minimizing the betrayal.
Stage Three: Attach
Whether you're rebuilding trust or thoughtfully separating, this stage is about making an informed, grounded choice — and starting to live it. For couples who stay, this is where new commitments are made. For those who part, it's about doing so with dignity.
This Might Be Right for You If...
· You've recently discovered an affair and don't know what to do
· You're the partner who strayed and want to understand what happened
· You're in limbo — not sure whether to stay or go
· You've been trying to move past it but the trust isn't rebuilding
· You want a space where both of you can speak honestly without judgment
High conflict Couples
Couples therapy for partners caught in cycles of conflict, disconnection, and hurt — using Gottman Method and EFT.
You're not broken. You're stuck. And stuck can change.
You've had the same fight so many times you could script it. Someone shuts down. Someone escalates. You go to bed exhausted, unsure whether to reach out or retreat. The love is still there, buried under years of misses and misunderstandings, but it's getting harder to find.
This is one of the most common and most treatable patterns in couples therapy. You don't have to keep doing this.
What High-Conflict Therapy Actually Looks Like
At Salt and Heart Therapy, I use the Gottman Method and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), two of the most research-backed approaches in couples work. Together, they help us do three things:
First, we slow down the cycle. Before we can change anything, we need to understand what's actually happening when you fight — not just the words, but the fear and the need underneath them.
Second, we rebuild emotional safety. I'll help you and your partner identify your triggers, your patterns, and the moments where connection is still possible.
Third, we build new habits. Skills for communicating, repairing after ruptures, and turning toward each other instead of away, practiced in session until they become second nature.
This Might Be Right for You If...
· You feel like you're constantly misreading each other
· Conversations quickly become arguments
· One or both of you shuts down, stonewalls, or walks away
· You love each other but aren't sure you like each other right now
· You've tried talking it out on your own and it keeps going sideways
· You want to stop hurting each other — and actually mean it
LGBTQ+ & ENM Affirming Couples Therapy
Affirming, knowledgeable couples therapy for LGBTQ+ partners and ethically non-monogamous relationships.
Your relationship deserves a therapist who actually gets it.
Finding a couples therapist who is genuinely affirming — not just tolerant — matters. You shouldn't have to spend session time explaining your relationship structure, defending your identity, or managing a therapist's discomfort. You have enough on your plate.
At Salt and Heart Therapy, I work with LGBTQ+ couples and ethically non-monogamous partners — including polyamorous, open, and other consensually non-monogamous relationships — with full respect for who you are and how you love.
What 'Affirming' Actually Means Here
Affirming doesn't mean I'll avoid hard conversations. It means I won't pathologize your identity, your orientation, or your relationship structure. It means I understand — not just in theory — the particular stressors that LGBTQ+ couples and ENM partners navigate:
· Minority stress and its impact on relationship dynamics
· Family rejection and found family
· Navigating visibility and disclosure
· The unique communication and trust challenges in non-monogamous structures
· Jealousy, hierarchy, and relationship agreements in ENM
· Internalized shame and how it shows up in partnership
My Approach
I use Gottman Method and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) — both of which are highly adaptable to diverse relationship structures. Whether you're a same-sex couple, a triad navigating a conflict, or partners in an open relationship working through a rough patch, the core work is the same: understanding each other, communicating more effectively, and building the kind of connection you actually want.
This Might Be Right for You If...
· You're an LGBTQ+ couple looking for a therapist
· You're in an ENM or polyamorous relationship and want support from someone familiar with these dynamics
· You've had experiences with therapists who were well-meaning but uninformed
· You're navigating communication breakdowns, jealousy, or trust issues
· You want to strengthen your relationship with a therapist who sees and respects your whole dynamic