Relationship Counseling and Couples Therapy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
A Somatic, Experiential Approach to Healing Relationships
A Survey of mental health professionals showed that working with couples was the most complex and challenging population to work with—particularly when affairs, trauma, or long-standing relational patterns are present. Couples therapy to be effective requires advanced training, extensive experience, and a grounded, compassionate therapeutic stance.
Clinical Experience for Couples Therapy
In my psychotherapy practice, I have over 40 years of clinical experience working with couples and relationship issues, informed by a somatic, body-centered approach that addresses not only thoughts and behaviors, but also the underlying energetic dynamics, emotional and behavioral patterns that shape relationships.
A new approach to Relationships and Couples Therapy
The somatic approach I was trained in specialized in working with individuals and groups but not couples or relationship issues. As a result, I have developed a body-centered approach to working specifically with couples and relationship issues utilizing all my training and years of experience working in this area.
Why Couples Therapy Is Often More Complex
Relationship distress is rarely limited just to the present moment. Couples often bring with them a history that should be addressed as needed. This may include unresolved childhood and family-of-origin trauma. There may also be reactive responses shaped by past attachment injuries. Relationship traumas include infidelity, abuse, addictions, broken heart, rejection, divorce, loss of a child or chronic illness. In addition, chronic stress, anxiety, depression or trauma may manifest physically in either partner often affecting the relationship. These layers can make couples therapy particularly challenging.
Specialized Training in Somatic and Experiential Relationship Work in Ft. Lauderdale
I completed Intimacy Training with Doug and Naomi Moseley, authors of The Shadow Side of Intimate Relationships and Feelings First. This work was deeply somatic and experiential, conducted in a group setting that required trainees to personally engage with emotional, relational, and body-based processes. In addition, I have received formal training in Imago Relationship Therapy and The Gottman Method, developed by John Gottman, author of Why Marriages Fail.
A Body-Centered Approach to Couples and Relationship Counseling in Ft. Lauderdale
The body-centered approach specifically tailored to couples and relationship issues that I developed integrates attachment theory, experiential and relational techniques specifically for couples. The somatic approach helps partners become more aware of energy dynamics, nonverbal body language, how stress and trauma affect the relationship, how emotional and behavioral reactivity shapes communication, conflict, and emotional disconnection. Acquiring this awareness allows for learning how to address and improve communication, emotional regulation, how to disagree without conflict and have more intimacy.
Issues Addressed in Relationship Counseling and Couples Therapy
I work with individuals and couples across a wide range of relationship concerns, including:
Dating Challenges
- Breaking unproductive or repetitive dating patterns
- Making healthier partner choices
- Learning how to build a healthy, satisfying relationship
Marriage and Long-Term Partnerships
- Communication breakdowns and conflict
- Emotional disconnection or loss of intimacy
- Infidelity and breaches of trust
- Making the difficult decision to stay together or divorce
- Rebuilding after major relational loss
Adult Child–Parent Relationships
- Ongoing conflict between adult children and parents
- Unresolved attachment or developmental trauma
- Challenges working together in a family business
- Long-standing relational wounds seeking repair
Somatic couples therapy for Deeper, Lasting Change
When I work with couples there are three entities involved, two people and the relationship. The client is the relationship. That means the focus is on what is not working or what is beneficial to the relationship. Each partner contributes to and is responsible for making or breaking the relationship. My role is to be an advocate for the relationship and guide the couple to learn better ways to be in the relationship together.
Benefits of Somatic Techniques for Couples
Somatic techniques support connection and opening the heart for love again. Breathwork and a variety of experiential exercises help the couple to learn and explore what they have been doing and how to change the dysfunctional patterns. The ability to remain present during difficult relational moments is improved. Energy dynamics between the couple are a focus for the relationship to become alive and energized again.
Communication is Key for Better Relationships
Only 7% of communication is verbal or words. Learning body language and how to dialogue differently is taught and practiced helping to reduce miscommunication and misunderstanding in the relationship. By working directly with emotions and the body, couples and individuals can reduce reactivity, defensiveness, blame, contempt and judgment, learn about power struggles and how to resolve differences. The couple can then acquire skills in handling disagreements towards understanding and resolution, increase emotional safety, and develop new relational patterns that are embodied, rewarding and sustainable.
Relationship Counseling and Couples Therapy in Fort Lauderdale: An Experienced Trauma-Informed, Experiential Body-Based Approach
A relationship offers the biggest possibility to express, create and receive love, joy, passion and purpose. Relationships can be a crucible for personal growth, healing and transformation. Whether you are navigating dating challenges, relationship distress, marriage transitions, difficult friendships, or complex family dynamics, relationship counseling and couples therapy grounded in somatic psychotherapy offers a powerful path toward clarity, connection, and perhaps the best relationship of your life.
FAQs Relationship Counseling
Couples Therapy
1. What is relationship counseling and couples therapy in Ft. Lauderdale?
Relationship counseling and couples therapy is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on addressing relationship issues and improving the health of a relationship. In my somatic psychotherapy practice for couples in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the relationship itself is considered the client. Couples therapy focuses on understanding patterns, resolving conflict, and helping partners develop healthier ways of relating emotionally, physically, and relationally.
2. How is somatic couples therapy different from traditional couples therapy in Ft. Lauderdale?
Somatic couples therapy differs from traditional talk therapy by working directly with the whole body, emotions and energy dynamics. Instead of focusing only on communication skills or cognitive insight, somatic psychotherapy helps couples become more aware of emotions in the body, sensations, body language, energy dynamics and how unconscious reactions drive conflict. This body-centered psychotherapy approach supports deeper and more lasting change. Somatic couples therapy is also a trauma-informed couples’ therapy.
3. Why do couples keep repeating the same conflicts?
Couples often repeat the same conflicts because unresolved trauma, attachment wounds, and repetitive relationship patterns from the past are being activated. These patterns operate automatically and are often expressed through body language, tone, emotional reactivity, withdrawal or disconnection. Somatic psychotherapy helps couples recognize and transform these patterns at their source rather than repeatedly arguing about surface issues.
4. What does it mean that “the relationship is the client”?
When the relationship is the client, therapy focuses on what is helping or harming the relationship rather than labeling one partner as the problem. Each person contributes to the relationship for better or worse. The therapist acts as an advocate for the relationship, helping both partners take responsibility and learn new ways of communication, creating a deeper connection, becoming more present and embodied.
5. Can somatic couples therapy help with trauma and infidelity?
Yes. Relationship trauma such as infidelity, emotional or physical abuse, addiction, loss, or chronic illness often requires a trauma-informed approach. Somatic psychotherapy helps couples process these experiences safely by reducing fear, increasing emotional regulation, and allowing difficult material to be addressed without overwhelm or dissociation.
6. How does body awareness improve intimacy in relationships?
True intimacy requires emotional presence, emotional awareness, shifts in energy and embodiment. Somatic couples therapy helps partners develop body awareness by tracking sensations, breathing, energy, and emotional responses. As couples become more embodied, they are better able to stay connected to self and their partner during disruptions, conflict, reactions, vulnerability and emotional closeness. This supports development of intimacy in relationships.
7. Why is nonverbal communication so important in couples therapy?
Communication is only 7% words while 93% is nonverbal, expressed through posture, facial expression, tone of voice, and body language. Misreading these cues often leads to misunderstanding, conflict, emotional and behavioral reactivity. Somatic couples therapy teaches partners to become aware of nonverbal signals and align words with bodily expression and emotions to improve emotional safety and connection.
8. Can couples therapy help with power struggles and control issues?
Yes. Power struggles are often rooted in fear, unmet needs, and attachment insecurity. In somatic couples’ psychotherapy, these dynamics are explored through both emotional awareness, bodily responses as well as behavior. As couples learn to recognize and regulate these patterns, control and power struggles soften and cooperation becomes more possible.
9. Do you work with dating and early relationship issues?
Yes. Relationship counseling is not only for long-term couples. Therapy can help individuals and couples who are dating identify unproductive dating patterns, heal past relationship trauma, make healthier partner choices, and develop the emotional skills needed to create a successful relationship. Somatic psychotherapy for dating is helpful in changing chronic patterns in dating.
10. Can relationship counseling help adult children and parents?
Absolutely. I work with adult child–parent relationship issues, including unresolved childhood trauma, boundary challenges, and conflicts related to family businesses or caregiving. Somatic psychotherapy helps all parties understand how past experiences continue to shape present interactions and supports healthier relational boundaries.
11. Is couples therapy only about fixing problems?
No. While couples therapy addresses conflict and relationship problems, it also supports personal growth, emotional expansion, and deeper connection. Relationships offer one of the greatest opportunities for healing, joy, creativity, and meaning. From a somatic perspective, a relationship can also be a spiritual practice for transformation and self-awareness.
12. I’ve never been to therapy—how do I know if couples counseling in Ft. Lauderdale is right for us?
If you feel stuck, disconnected, repeating the same arguments, or struggling to feel safe and close, relationship counseling may help. Somatic couples therapy is especially helpful if talking alone hasn’t worked, emotions feel overwhelming or shut down, there is a disconnection or loss of self in the relationship. Somatic psychotherapy therapy for couples provides a structured, supportive space to learn new ways of relating.
