Couples Therapy

 

 

If you've found this page, it means that you may be having some difficultiy in your relationship. I urge you to take action now because the longer you delay dealing with the issues, the more entrenched the issues become, so more time and money will be needed to dig them back out of the trench.

 

Couples decide to work with me when the following issues arise in their relationship:

 

• Emotional and/or physical infidelity

• Communication breakdowns

• Inability to resolve conflicts without fighting

• Unmet emotional needs

• Gradual loss of intimacy, affection, or sex

• Mood disturbances on either side (depression, anxiety)

• High levels of stress

• Difficulty nurturing each other after children are born

• Blended and step-family issues

• Parenting issues

• Inter-racial, inter-cultural and inter-familial differences

 

It is important for the first session to be a joint session, so that we can start off on the same page. I explain how I work with couples and then I ask each person to tell me the story of their relationship. For the next two sessions, I see each person separately to assess which individual issues have become obstacles to building a gratifying relationship. I believe that a strong and healthy individual creates a strong and healthy couple. We explore together the role models for relationships in their lives (usually parental figures) and their past romantic relationship experiences. We work toward making relationship actions and decisions conscious, instead of being based on unconscious programming from the past that may not be based on healthy role models. 

 

The following sessions are with both

partners. Much of the work will focus

on strengthening communication skills,

establishing direct and honest expression

of emotions, handling conflict effectively

and meeting your own and your partner's

emotional needs. Exercises may be given

for the times in-between sessions. 

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My work with couples is informed by the work of Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman of the Gottman Institute in Seattle, Washington. In 2012, I completed the Level One Gottman Therapist Training with the Gottmans. In January and April 2018 I completed Levels Two and Three of the Clinical Training and I am currently (2021) in the Certification Track. I am incorporating these methods and theories into my work with couples.

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Sessions are most effective when they are scheduled once per week until the relationship has improved, at which point there can be more time between sessions. Clients are responsible for scheduling follow-up sessions. My clients have the choice of scheduling a 60 or 90 minute session with me on my online calendar. Fees for the 90 minute sessions are 1.5 times the cost of the 60 minute sessions. I recommend scheduling 90 minutes for joint sessions and 60 minutes for individual sessions.

 

The fee for the first session is a fixed CHF 160 for 60 minutes. Starting with the second session, the fee can be chosen by the client on a sliding fee scale based on the client's ability to pay and the value of the sessions to the client. I use a sliding fee scale for two reasons. 1) I like to give my clients a choice. 2) I want to make my services available to the widest income range possible. Someone who chooses a fee at the higher end of the scale allows me to work with those who can afford only the lowest fee.

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More information about my fees, confidentiality and other topics can be found here in my Professional Services Agreement.

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Generally speaking, health insurance does not reimburse for couples counselling. To be sure, you will need to contact your insurance and give them my name. 

 

I am a member of the Swiss Fondation ASCA and my therapist number is RCC F437162. The health insurance companies collaborating with ASCA can be found here. You are responsible for determining if your health insurance will reimburse part of the fee before you begin working with me. You may need to give the insurance company my name and my ASCA details. My ASCA certificate for 2021 is available here.

 

To schedule an appointment with me, simply click on the brown button below which takes you to my online calendar. My calendar can be scheduled up to two months in advance. It will send you an immediate confirmation email and a reminder email 48 hours before the appointment. Less than 24 hours before the appointment, no changes can be made by the calendar so you will need to contact me directly. If you would like to speak with me before scheduling, please feel free to call me using either of the phone numbers on my Contact section or email me to set up a time.

 

Premarital Preparation

 

I am a FOCCUS premarital inventory facilitator for couples. FOCCUS is an internationally known inventory designed to provide engaged couples with a personalized profile of what is needed in their marriage preparation process. It is both a starting place for couple discussion and a map of what issues need time and attention, affirmation or problem solving.