At IE we understand that every relationship is unique, shaped by different experiences, backgrounds, and individual journeys. Our goal is to help you create a partnership where both of you feel safe, seen, and connected—on your terms.
We take a relational approach: In couples therapy, we don't diagnose individuals. The relationship is our client. We work with what's happening between you—your patterns, how your nervous systems interact, the ways you've each learned to relate—rather than pathologizing either partner. This isn't about fixing what's broken; it's about understanding what's stuck and creating something different together.
Couples come to us when:
- You're stuck in the same fights—one pursuing, one shutting down, neither feeling heard
- Money, parenting, or daily responsibilities create tension that lives in your bodies long after the conversation ends
- Physical or emotional intimacy has faded and you can't find your way back
- Life transitions or losses are straining your capacity to show up for each other
- There's no time left for genuine connection
- Trust has been broken and you're wondering if repair is possible
Together, we explore:
- Your protective strategies: Pursuing connection, creating distance, keeping the peace—these made sense once. Now they might be creating the very distance you don't want.
- Your body's signals: Tension in your shoulders, knots in your stomach, the urge to flee or fight—these are information. Noticing what's happening gives you the chance to respond differently.
- New ways of relating: Practical skills for emotional regulation, clear communication, and staying present when things get hard. Tools you actually practice and use.
- Repair and reconnection: Every couple ruptures. What matters is coming back to each other. We practice repair in real time so your relationship becomes a place where healing happens.
Sessions & Intensives
90-Minute Sessions
Extended time lets us work beneath the surface and create real change in the moment. Unlike 50-minute sessions that end just as you're getting somewhere, 90 minutes gives us room to:
- Notice patterns as they happen and shift them together
- Move from reactivity to connection using your nervous systems as guides
- Practice new skills and refine them immediately
- Give each of you processing time
- Experience yourselves relating differently—not just talking about it
Half-Day Intensives (3 hours)
Some moments need concentrated attention. Betrayals that shattered trust. Patterns so entrenched they feel permanent. Disconnection that's become your new normal. Intensives create space for breakthrough.
Three hours lets us see your relationship completely—what's pulling you apart and what's keeping you together. We explore not just struggles, but strengths: moments you connect well, hard seasons you've weathered, ways you've tried to reach each other, the courage it takes to keep showing up.
Intensives are designed collaboratively, working at multiple levels. Sometimes one partner carries more visible pain while the other feels shut out. Sometimes you're both hurting differently. Extended time allows us to work with both experiences—what happens in your bodies during conflict, automatic patterns, reactions that seem bigger than the moment.
When past experiences keep affecting your present—we work with what words alone can't reach. For stuck places, we use Brainspotting or EMDR, body-based methods that help access and heal painful experiences where they're stored—in your brain and nervous system.
Intensives work especially well for:
- Recovering from infidelity or significant betrayals
- Breaking gridlock resistant to weekly sessions
- Jump-starting work during crisis
- Processing experiences affecting your connection
- Preparing for major decisions or transitions
- Couples who've "tried everything"
- Long-distance couples needing concentrated time
We draw from these evidence-based modalities:
The Gottman Method: Research-based techniques for communication and conflict resolution
Internal Family Systems: Understanding how different parts of yourselves affect your relationship
Relational Life Therapy: Identifying and changing unproductive patterns while increasing mutual respect and intimacy
Polyvagal-Informed Therapy: Understanding how your nervous system influences emotional responses, helping you recognize safety and danger cues to regulate reactions and navigate conflict
Whatever challenges you're facing, trusted support will help you find clarity and work toward lasting solutions together.