Relational Therapy
For the relationships that hold you
Relationships are complicated on their own. Add a chronic illness diagnosis, a queer identity, or both, and the relational landscape gets even more layered. The people we love most are often the ones we struggle to fully reach.
Relational therapy creates a shared space where everyone in the room can be seen, heard, and reconnected to both themselves and each other.
Who is This For?
Relational therapy is for anyone navigating the complexity of human connection. This includes:
- Partners & couples of any relationship structure, including monogamous, polyamorous, and everything in between
- Families working through illness, a loved one coming out, caregiving dynamics, or generational conflict
- Siblings & chosen family whose relationships have shifted because of chronic illness or queer identity
- Friends who want to show up for each other better
- Polycules navigating communication, jealousy, boundaries, and connection across a multi-partner system
What Brings People In
- One partner has a chronic illness and the dynamic between you has shifted
- Caregiving has started to feel more like a role than a relationship
- Intimacy, emotional or physical, has become harder since a diagnosis
- You want support navigating a coming out conversation with a family member
- Your partner is transitioning their gender and you need support with how this impacts your relationship
- Your family of origin doesn’t fully accept your queer identity or your relationship
- You’re building a chosen family intentionally and want tools to do it well
- Communication keeps breaking down in the same patterns, no matter how hard you try
- You love each other deeply but feel increasingly alone together
What Sessions Look Like
Relational sessions are 55 minutes and held virtually, which means I can work with anyone residing in Washington State.
Sessions might involve exploring communication patterns that keep showing up, unpacking how chronic illness has changed your roles and needs, processing a rupture in the relationship, or simply practicing being present with each other in a supported space. Some clients also do a combination of individual and relational sessions, which can deepen the work in both. My relational work is heavily influenced by Emotion-Focused Therapy.
Relational sessions are $185. Low-cost therapy is available, see FAQs for more details.
A Note on Chronic Illness & Relationships
When one person in a relationship is managing a chronic illness, everyone in that relationship is affected. Partners, family members, and close friends often carry their own grief, fear, exhaustion, and love. Carrying this can become a heavy load.
Relational therapy offers a place to put it. Together, we can explore how illness has changed your dynamic, what each person needs and hasn’t been able to ask for, and how to find each other again on the other side of a diagnosis.
Seeking relational therapy isn’t a sign that something is broken. It’s a sign that your relationships matter enough to tend to.