NARM-Informed Relational Couples and Family Therapy

Beginning The Process

Many couples seek support not because something is “broken,” but because patterns have become stuck. You may find yourselves having the same conversation over and over, without feeling any closer or more understood. Conversations escalate quickly, distance grows, one partner may feel unseen or unheard, or the other may feel criticized, overwhelmed, or alone.

Often, beneath the surface conflict, there is a deeper longing — to feel met, respected, and emotionally safe in the relationship.

Moving From Blame to Agency

My work with couples is grounded in the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM), a trauma-informed, attachment-based approach that focuses on the deeper dynamics driving relational distress.

Rather than teaching partners to fix one another, or focusing solely on communication skills, we explore:

• what each person truly wants from the relationship
• where misunderstandings and triggers emerge in real time
• the protective strategies each partner brings into moments of stress
• how unresolved developmental experiences shape present reactions

When conflict arises in session, we slow it down. Instead of escalating or assigning blame, we stay with what is happening between you in real time, slowing down moments of tension to understand how each person is experiencing themselves, the other, and the relationship as it unfolds.

This allows the couple to move from reactivity toward greater agency and vulnerability.

Supporting Real-Time Connection

Couples therapy in this model is active and balanced. I don’t approach one partner as the problem. Instead, we track the relational system as it unfolds—how each person’s experience, history, and protective patterns shape the interaction between you.

When moments of genuine softening, compassion, or vulnerability arise, we pause and anchor those experiences within the couple. These moments are not incidental — they are the foundation for rebuilding connection.

Over time, partners often begin to:

• interrupt escalating cycles
• respond with greater emotional clarity
• tolerate vulnerability without attacking or withdrawing
• develop a more resilient and secure relational bond

Often, what looks like conflict between partners is shaped by protective strategies that developed earlier in life and now emerge automatically in moments of stress. Rather than trying to eliminate these responses, we work to understand them—creating space for greater flexibility, choice, and connection.

Progressively, this work helps partners recognize the difference between moments of genuine contact and moments organized around protection—allowing for more choice in how they relate to one another.

Who Couples Therapy Tends To Support Best

This approach may be particularly helpful for couples who:

• feel caught in recurring conflict or emotional distance
• want deeper understanding beyond surface communication techniques
• recognize patterns of reactivity that feel difficult to shift alone
• are open to exploring both personal history and present dynamics
• value accountability, curiosity, and emotional depth

Working With Families

I also work with parents and adult children who are seeking to understand and shift long-standing relational patterns within the family.

Even when everyone involved is an adult, family relationships often carry earlier attachment roles, expectations, and sensitivities that can become activated quickly under stress.

In these sessions we focus less on revisiting the past as a story and more on what unfolds in the present interaction. We slow down moments of tension or distance and explore what is happening within each person and between family members in the present interaction.

This helps create space for greater clarity, accountability, and differentiation — the ability to remain connected while also standing in one’s own experience.

Who Family Therapy Tends To Support Best

Family therapy may be helpful for parents and adult children who find themselves caught in recurring patterns of conflict, distance, or misunderstanding that feel difficult to shift on their own.

Often these dynamics are shaped by earlier roles, expectations, and sensitivities within the family system. Even when relationships have evolved over time, those patterns can become activated quickly under stress.

This work tends to support families who are willing to slow down conversations, explore what is happening internally for each person, and develop greater clarity, accountability, and differentiation — the ability to remain connected while also standing in one’s own experience.

Services and Rates

I currently offer individual therapy sessions via telehealth for couples and families located in New York and Florida.

While I am an out-of-network provider, I can provide a superbill to support with out-of-network insurance reimbursement. Coverage and reimbursement rates vary by plan, so I encourage you to check directly with your insurance provider regarding your specific benefits.

My standard session fee is $175 per 55–60 minute session. A limited number of sliding-scale openings may be available depending on financial circumstances.

I ask for 48 hours’ notice for cancellations or rescheduling. When possible, I make reasonable efforts to accommodate changes within that window, understanding that life can be unpredictable.

If you have questions about fees, insurance, or scheduling, we can address these during an initial consultation.

Next Steps

If you’re considering couples or family therapy, you can schedule a brief consultation using the contact form below to explore what is happening in the relationship and whether this approach feels like a good fit.