Relationships are the heart of our lives. It is our connections that are the anchor through the thick and the thin while we navigate all of the challenges of life. I care greatly about helping to bring more awareness and intention to the process of relating to one another. Have you noticed that you seem to get in the same fight with your partner, even if the topic is different? I help you to identify the dynamics and cycles that you get stuck in with each other. These stuck patterns are simply unsuccessful attempts to get your needs met and be connected. Once you start to identify the patterns that aren't working and why, you can begin to choose different interactions that are geared more towards connection rather then disconnection.
I focus on deepening intimacy using the present moment so that you and your partner can have a new experience. By learning to attune to yourselves and each other, you can have a more complete connection physically, emotionally, and intellectually. I see relationships as a wonderful and sometimes terribly frustrating opportunity for growth. I infuse humor and playfulness into my work and encourage it in the room. There can be some fun and delight in growing together!
Because I specialize in working with couples, I engage in ongoing training and supervision specific to relationships to ensure that I get continual guidance with the leading and up-to-date couples therapy practices. My work is influenced by EFT (Emotionally Focused Couple's Therapy), PACT (A Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy), and AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy) for Couples. All of these modalities incorporate attachment theory (and how it relates to having satisfactory and secure connections) and the latest neuroscience (and how it relates to our Nervous System and a felt sense of safety, trust, and love).
I honor the many ways in which people experience and express love and relationship. I welcome and have experience working with diverse relationship arrangements, including polyamory.
Serena Miller-Sears, MA, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #109064