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COUPLES THERAPY & MARRIAGE COUNSELING

With over 20 years of experience working with individuals, couples, families and groups, Dira can help you regain the confidence, trust and insight you need to move forward in your life.

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FREE CONSULTATION

20 minute phone or video consultation: FREE

Upon contacting me, we can schedule a free 20 minute consultation if you desire. This first consultation is meant to get to briefly know each other, and get a general idea for how I work. You’ll be briefly presenting your needs as an individual or a couple, and you will receive introductory feedback and information regarding how the therapy process works, fees, and availability.  Scheduling a consultation is not required as you can schedule an initial session right away.  However, sometimes a consultation allows a client to decide if a therapist's communication style is a fit for them.  Sometimes a consultation is a good opportunity for a more skeptical or less motivated spouse or partner to ask questions about the process and about my style and training. 

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COUPLE SESSIONS

Initial 90 minutes session: $150

Subsequent sessions 55 minutes $125

Once we have established that couple sessions are what you both need, we schedule an initial session for 90 minutes.  In this first session I can assess your current situation from both perspectives , gather personal history and present you with a structure for the sessions that will follow.  Subsequent sessions are usually 55 minutes, unless longer sessions are requested.  Most couples require between 6-12 sessions to successfully make lasting changes. Usually sessions occur weekly and then are spaced out as the sense of urgency becomes less intense. As every couples is different, it is not always possible to prescribe a specific amount of sessions however I am always mindful of asking my clients about their needs, financial situation and efficacy of their treatment to better understand how to plan for their success.

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INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS

50 minute individual sessions $115

Individual sessions may be a fit for you if you are either seeking individual assistance for self growth , overcoming traumas, coping with grief, managing family or work stress, going through life transitions and achieving  personal transformation (regardless of whether or not you are in a relationship) or as part of couples therapy.   It is not unusual for a partner to participate in individual sessions to address any underlying and personal issues affecting their relationship. As a result, they can learn the skills to heal and move forward, and address some couple issues individually. Individual sessions are also appropriate for couples whose partners are not ready to come in. There is considerable work can be done separately to improve a relationship.

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THERAPY AREAS

COUPLES THERAPY AND RELATIONSHIP STRENGTHENING 

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Couples therapy is my area of unique expertise for almost two decades.  I have worked with some of the toughest issues facing couples today including recovering from infidelity, reclaiming trust and communication, breaking toxic patterns, rekindling emotional closeness and desire, adapting to blended family issues, helping a partner with an untreated history of trauma, managing extended family issues and setting boundaries and more. I also have extensive experience working with LGBT couples and their unique issues.  To paraphrase the internationally renown therapist Esther Perel, "The quality of your relationships will affect the quality of you life." Additionally I provide tools, exercises and workshops for couples who would simply like to strengthen an already stable relationship.  Many of these resources come from my training and certification with the famed Gottman Institute .  I utilize many of Dr. John Gottman's exercises, utilizing expressive therapies throughout our regular sessions.   Please see my events tab for any upcoming workshops for couples. 

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INDIVIDUALS

Individual work is crucial to change and self growth.  Do you feel like you are stuck in a life pattern that you don't like? Feel frustrated or overwhelmed? Life is full of challenges that can leave you feeling anxious, stressed and even afraid. We all face these difficulties at different times in our lives. Recognizing that we are in a tough spot and reaching out for help is the first step to navigating these situations more effectively. I will help look at your situation from a variety of perspectives and help you make the right underlying changes to restructure and change the course of your life, and transform it to one that is more gratifying.

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WOMEN  SPECIFIC ISSUES IN SESSIONS

There are issues that can be unique to each gender.  Post partum depression, adapting to children, mother-daughter conflicts, life after divorce, reclaiming yourself after children, finding your voice and breaking way from toxic family of origin patterns are just a few.  Sometimes healing traumas and working on other areas of difficulty that may be affecting your life and your relationships can be best done individually.  LGBT and identity specific issues among biologically born women or individuals who identify with this gender are also areas welcome in my practice.

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MEN SPECIFIC ISSUES IN SESSIONS

Working with men and the issues that they encounter has become and important part of my practice.   I attempt to create a space where they can voice their concerns and feel respected and honored as they work to transform areas of their lives.  Men have come to  my practice to discuss a number of issues. Many men have experienced abuse as young boys and have had no one to talk to. Boys are rarely encouraged to make deep friendships which often results in loneliness in adulthood. Men have rich inner lives and they want to have meaningful, emotionally connected sex with their partners and sometimes require assistance in finding that path.  Stressors related to family expectations, adapting to the transition of family life, breaking away from family patterns, finding happiness in relationships, coping with past traumas are just some of the few issues affecting men today. 

FAMILY THERAPY SESSIONS

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As a family therapist, and as a spouse and parent, I understand that family dynamics can be incredibly rewarding as well as incredibly intense.  You may be experiencing difficulty with an adolescent, blended family issues, difficulty with in-laws or other extended family members and are feeling completely exasperated.  My training as a family therapist is specifically designed to reveal and address underlying family patterns and interactions and help to create shifts in the family system to make seemingly stressful problems more solvable.  Regardless of whether you are a family of ten, or a single parent with one or several children, or a traditional family model or a same sex parent family model, I can help to improve your family's quality of life and interpersonal relationships.

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WOMENS WILDERNESS RETREATS

Planning and facilitating women's wilderness retreats is a passion that I have been slowly building on for several years.  In these retreats women are able to experience camping, outdoor cooking, hiking, kayaking, participating in therapeutic painting, fibers work, poetry, singing and creating sisterhood.  Absolutely no experience in any of these realms are necessary. More information can be provided upon request.  Please see the events tab for any upcoming events.

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HYPNOTHERAPY

Information coming soon...

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ABOUT ME

Keeping the person or couples that I work with, with their unique life experiences and attributes, at the center of their sessions with me, is the hallmark of the work that I do.

My journey to being the person and therapist that I am today is both the result of my professional training but also an accumulation of my life experiences.  Originally starting as an art college student with a love of anthropology, I grew to love working with art in a therapeutic manner. Receiving a Master of Science in family therapy (a field founded by an anthropologist, as well a psychiatrist and filmmaker), I entered a world of working with a great variety of people utilizing a multitude of creative solutions that are not limited to simply labeling people with a diagnosis and providing them with a one size fits all treatment plan.  To be a family therapist is to see the world systemically, what we refer today as holistically or made up of many co-existing layers and parts.

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QUESTIONS? ASK ME!

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