Couples Counseling Gig Harbor

couples counseling

Tired of fighting?

Trying to figure out whether to stay or go?

Discovered your partner had an affair or broke trust in some other way?

Want to set your relationship up for success?

Whether you are frustrated with each other and want things to be better, or you are dealing with a crisis and wondering what to do, or looking to make a happy relationship even stronger and secure your future as a couple, if you live in the Gig Harbor area, I am here to help.

I can help you build the skills you need to navigate relationship challenges.

After meeting with you as a couple to hear your goals and concerns, I will suggest a plan of action for our work together. That will typically include a strong focus on building relationship and communication skills that can be used to clear up your relationship messy buildup (hurt feelings and resentments from misunderstandings and poor message delivery) and work through future challenges on your own easier and quicker.

"We have worked with other counselors before, but never with the results we got with Ann. She has a way of making things easy to understand. She taught us how to listen to each other, express ourselves with tact, problem solve, and so much more.

We are very happy together now. We have small bumps along the way as a couple, but they are just bumps. What used to blow up into big messes and hurt feelings we now work through easily.

We are so grateful we found her."

Typical skill-building components of my work with couples includes:

1. Relationship qualities/skills (ie partnership, respect, assertiveness…).

2. How to express yourself with tact (the honesty/respect combo).

3. How to listen in a way that actually works (your partner feels heard, you understand what they have going on, and you feel closer together).

4. How to consult with each other for decision making, problem solving, and conflict resolution (in a way where you both feel like you have a voice, you both feel heard, and you come up with solutions that fit your unique family).

5. Relationship to-do's and not-to-do's learned from years of experience with clients and life (i.e. apologies that aren’t apologies, replacing “but” with “and”, avoiding absolutes, etc.).

The focus on skill-building is meant to give structure not rigidity, so that your particular situation can dictate the content and length of each session.

I designed many of my published products through my work with couples. Using these products during sessions makes the learning relatively easy and enjoyable and provides an opportunity for you to continue the work at home between sessions if that works for you.

As one couple put it, “It’s like we get our own workshop. You teach us the skills and we can practice with our personal stuff without an audience of other participants.”

I work with all sorts of couples and relationship phases:

dating
co-habitating
premarital counseling
marriage counseling
relationship coaching
divorce coaching
straight couples and LGBTQ couples

Unique approach to time

Unlike most counselors, the length of each appointment with me is determined by what you need that day. I expect you to be at least an hour for any appointment, but we don't have to be confined to that hour. We can keep going until it feels like the right time to stop that day. We take finances and schedules into account, but I have found that if we can work open-ended it is the most gentle and efficient for you. We don't have to stop in the middle of something and you make progress faster. You pay for the time used (charged in 5 minute increments).

"Working with Ann, I get to come full circle to completion in each session. I have enough time. I don’t have to rush through things. She doesn’t let me go too far and she doesn’t have to bring me back too soon just because an hour is up."

My Counseling and Coaching Rates

I charge $200 per hour. After the first hour, charges are in 5-minute increments. I accept cash, checks, and credit cards. Clients pay me at the end of each appointment and I can supply an invoice for you to submit to your insurance for reimbursement at whatever rate your insurance covers an "out of network" counselor.

My Counseling and Coaching Office in Gig Harbor, WA

I currently offer both in-person and teletherapy sessions.

couples counselor gig harbor My counseling office in Gig Harbor, WA (near Key Peninsula, Tacoma, Port Orchard, and Bremerton) offers a quiet, comfortable, relaxing setting with a view of Colvos Passage and Vashon Island. marriage counseling gig harbor