My approach to couples therapy has been refined over more than 15 years of clinical experience, helping couples and individuals improve their emotional well-being. My method focuses on healing attachment wounds, validating emotions, restoring emotional and physiological security, and strengthening communication skills and conflict management. In addition, I accompany couples by reviewing and adjusting agreements and expectations about each member's roles within the relationship.

In therapeutic work with couples, it is common to encounter traumatic or peri-traumatic experiences that affect connection and enjoyment of bonds. From a trauma-sensitive perspective, this is called “relational trauma”, and often the conflicts that emerge in the current relationship are reactivations of unresolved past situations, rather than problems in the relationship itself and repetitive and perennial problems in cohabitation. Have you ever found yourselves always fighting over the towel in the bathroom or the shoes at the door? Couple problems tend to be repetitive, that is, couples often fight about things that have the same core.

I work from a human rights approach, providing respectful and professional support to diverse couples: gay, lesbian, trans, monogamous, polyamorous, among other emotional configurations, as there are many ways to have bonds in human existence.

I offer in-person and virtual therapy, depending on each person's needs.

How do I know if I need couples therapy?

There are several factors that can affect a relationship, including: communication difficulties, disagreements related to sexuality, conflicts over important decisions, differences in parenting, or disagreements on financial issues, among others.

If one or more of these challenges are affecting your relationship, causing discomfort, or diminishing your enjoyment of life as a couple or family, it is entirely valid to seek the support of a specialized professional. A therapeutic process can help you regain understanding, mediate conflicts, and rebuild a space of peace, connection, and joy in your relationship.

One of the keys to success in couples therapy is to seek help early, before the bond deteriorates deeply or breaks down completely. Early intervention allows you to work on repairing the attachment and avoiding painful breakups.

How many sessions are required?

Regarding the working method, we will first conduct three or four sessions to evaluate the conflict together and separately. If the couple is suitable to continue with treatment, a session is held to review the findings and the plan to follow. The treatment phases can range from 12 to 18, depending on the individualized treatment plan that will be made for each couple. This does not include the “follow-up” sessions that are suggested after the treatment is completed.

This treatment will be conditioned by the form and style in which each member of the couple has aspects of emotional and physiological regulation, unprocessed relational trauma, other personality-related disorders, or post-traumatic stress. Therefore, it is very common for the treatment to be effective if individual therapy is also carried out in parallel with Couples Therapy.

The contraindications for Couples Therapy are:

•  Inappropriate relationships
•  Active domestic violence
•  Sexual violence
•  Active undisclosed infidelity
•  Untreated addictions
•  Untreated personality disorders
•  Other unstable mental health problems

Proven Effectiveness

Our model combines the most scientifically validated methods for repairing relationships, always from a neurobiological and trauma-sensitive approach. Here is the data that supports each component: We use Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), the Gottman Method, Compassion-Focused Therapy for Couples (CCT), Brief Strategic Therapy for Couples, among others

According to the Gottman Method:

•  Significant improvements in marital adjustment, intimacy, and relationship quality. (Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 2018).
• vCouples reported a significant increase in trust and emotional connection after treatment. (ResearchGate, 2022).
•  Effective application in same-sex couples: showed significant increases in relationship satisfaction. (Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 2017).

According to Emotion-Focused Therapy:

•  EFT has a 73% success rate in couples on the verge of separation (Study by Johnson et al., 2022).
•  75% of couples who have worked with EFT manage to rebuild emotional security and attachment (Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy).

According to EMDR Therapy for Couples:

•  Couples with relational trauma showed improvement in communication and emotional connection when integrating EMDR (Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 2020).
•  And 65% of couples reduced recurring conflicts associated with previous traumatic memories (Couple and Family Psychology, 2021).
•  Couples who combined EMDR + couples therapy were 40% more successful than with talk therapy alone (Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 2022).

Compassion-Focused Therapy for Couples (CCT):

•  Significantly reduces self-criticism, with a decrease of up to 40-50% in specific self-criticism and shame questionnaires.
•  Increases of 30-40% in empathy and compassionate behaviors toward the partner have been observed after compassion-focused interventions.
•  Improvements in relationship satisfaction of at least 35% after 8 to 12 sessions.

On the other hand, some studies indicate that:

•  LGBTQ+ and diverse couples show equally positive results as heterosexual couples when the therapist uses inclusive approaches (APA, 2021).
•  Online/virtual therapy is as effective as face-to-face therapy in 85% of cases (Journal of Couple Therapy).

I have a team of highly trusted professionals who are highly trained in these therapeutic modalities and have extensive clinical experience. We work in constant collaboration, reviewing cases on a monthly basis to ensure accurate and safe interventions. If our schedules do not coincide or I am not immediately available, I can refer you—jointly or individually—to one of them, knowing that you will be in excellent hands. The important thing is that you receive the support you need, without delays or obstacles. Contact us.