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Our children are listening, learning, and sometimes teaching: One of my client-couples brought these post-it notes to a recent session.  They were heartbroken.  While arguing, they thought out of earshot, their young daughter went onto the family computer and did a google search for “conflict resolution.”  This is what their daughter wrote down and handed…

Here at the Collaborative Center of Southern California (CCSC) our clinical work often begins with couples that have made the decision to move their relationships toward divorce. At this starting point our mental health professionals are interested to assess what marriage cycle the presenting couple is in. And how their “previous marriages” evolved. Even if…

Children will choose. Sometimes I sit with couples attempting to strengthen their marriages. Other times I sit with high conflict couples who are attempting to salvage them. And still other times I sit with couples who have decided to divorce and are seeking a path forward for their family, which involves a co-parenting plan. In…

High conflict couples. Some seek my services attempting to salvage their marriage. Others have decided to divorce and request my services as a “co-parenting communication expert.” In this latter scenario, I am called upon to help high conflict couples co-parent their children. Usually these couple’s assumption about co-parenting is something akin to working together as…

Sometimes couples come to see me to save their marriage. Other times they come seeking assistance in navigating the complicated process of divorce. They have come to this difficult decision, sometimes mutually, sometimes initiated by one or the other. At this juncture, I am called upon to act not as the couple’s therapist, but as…

I am often asked what to expect by couples coming to see me for their 1st couples therapy session. There are several areas I set out to cover during this meeting also referred to as an “intake session.” A productive intake balances a couple’s need to speak about what brought them in to see me…

I spend a lot of my time working with couples. Full disclosure, I prefer to help them stay together. Long-term relationships are not easy and they require continual care and attention. There are times however when a couple decides to divorce. When this decision is reached, some of the clinical work must turn toward telling…

Couples with children take note. It is easy to lose your marital relationship in pursuit of your child’s needs. It is common for me to receive an initial phone call from a parent asking for assistance with their child. The common presenting concerns are mood-related issues such as depression and anxiety, or behavioral concerns such…

Many couples, whether they stay together or move towards divorce, face a multitude of challenges. Parenting for example is a common stressor that can contribute to a marriage’s success or breakdown. This issue can be compounded when a child has specific learning needs. In such cases, an educational therapist can assist parents by giving their…

I see a lot of couples in my practice.  Sometimes, though rarely do both partners show up at the 1st appointment ready and interested in working on their relationship.  More often, 1 or both are ambivalent, are tired out, and are weighing the high stakes of dismantling the life they have built together.  They are…