https://www.westactoneft.com/home daily 1.0 2025-07-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d9f2c7ef6065314aed00d09/1582298828910-1LHRVFS7OSVVZQAUJHCD/image-asset.jpeg Home - Couples Therapy “Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin At times, nearly every couple gets caught in a negative cycle or dance that leads to conflict or painful distance. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d9f2c7ef6065314aed00d09/1582299531486-8IJ9F2B38REZH6JQJNU5/Aro%2BHa_0010.jpg Home - Individual Therapy To struggle is to be human. But sometimes those struggles become overwhelming. When your struggles impact your sense of yourself, your ability to engage in your life the way you want to, that’s where I come in. I lean in to your struggles to provide you with the support you need to journey to your best self. “Suffering is a given, suffering alone is intolerable.” — John Bowlby https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d9f2c7ef6065314aed00d09/1582306459044-UMUPTQA7MLOP6GLW6GAZ/image-asset.jpeg Home https://www.westactoneft.com/about daily 0.75 2025-06-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d9f2c7ef6065314aed00d09/1632323531375-UUX44YOQWCASDCL7AEKE/tempImagexqWbcD.gif About Why so many mountains on my website? I grew up in Colorado and I suppose those mountains still call to me, although I’ve been in New England for nearly 40 years and resonate with the oaks and the maples and four distinct seasons. I am a graduate of Antioch University with a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy and an undergraduate degree in English from Boston University. This is a mid-career change for me having worked as a graphic designer, fiber artist, teacher and farmer. I also homeschooled my daughter and son from kindergarten until she was in high school, he in middle school. As a white, cisgender, heterosexual woman in a transracial family, I am aware that the privileges of my social location mean that I experience the world in a different way than many of my peers and clients. I am committed to promoting equity and justice to foster the kind of relationships that allow for connection and security. I am passionate about my garden, my kids and my work and when I learned about Attachment theory and Emotionally-Focused Therapy, I felt like I had come home. https://www.westactoneft.com/contact daily 0.75 2020-03-04 https://www.westactoneft.com/couples-therapy daily 0.75 2020-03-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d9f2c7ef6065314aed00d09/1582307755518-MR8S1S12PCMH5FBU8CAH/image-asset.jpeg Couples Therapy - Wired for Connection Emotional connection is our greatest of human needs throughout our lives. When we feel safe and secure, loved and seen, we are able to be creative, take risks and grow. When we feel emotionally connected, we tell ourselves it’s safe to move in close, our whole nervous system relaxes. So it makes perfect sense that when we cannot reach our loved ones emotionally, it is painful, coded as a threat to our safety and security. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d9f2c7ef6065314aed00d09/1582728812056-HV3BB42B9RMWN7SDED37/image.png Couples Therapy - How we get stuck Sometimes it is hard to tune into our own feelings and needs, to understand them clearly and send clear messages to ask for what we need. Sometimes our partners cannot tune in and respond to us the way we need them to. It is hard to know how to deal with these moments of hurt and disconnection. We develop a way of coping that either has us moving away, trying to weather the storm and waiting until it seems safe to reengage, or getting frustrated and angry, trying to send a message of distress that ends up sounding critical or blaming. When we get stuck in this dance or cycle with our partners, the softer signals get lost and it is impossible to connect. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d9f2c7ef6065314aed00d09/1582729166963-QBTWHCEPJ46PQ6W7LV0Q/image-asset.jpeg Couples Therapy - Using Emotionally Focused Therapy… I can help you to slow down, recognize your negative cycle and be able to interrupt it with empathy and emotional closeness – creating greater security and a felt sense that your partner is there for you and can stay close. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d9f2c7ef6065314aed00d09/1583098627479-1TEAZIVHAEBJPRD7DCMU/image-asset.jpeg Couples Therapy - I work with couples at all levels of distress, effectively helping couples deepen intimacy, heal from relationship injuries including infidelities, cope with life’s challenges, and learn how to talk about anything and everything while feeling connected and secure. To make an appointment: https://www.westactoneft.com/individual-therapy daily 0.75 2020-12-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d9f2c7ef6065314aed00d09/1583097756020-RSJMQ5P3DS23YHQ392RX/image-asset.jpeg Individual Therapy - Everyone needs to be seen. Feeling intense worry (anxiety) or deep sadness (depression) are signposts that something isn’t right and our system’s way of protecting us and keeping us safe. Sometimes our pain stems from what has happened to us, sometimes it is the result of something that didn’t. I come alongside you as you explore and make sense of your own experience. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d9f2c7ef6065314aed00d09/1584048899309-XPMSU4YVIQY9B0G0XYCL/image-asset.jpeg Individual Therapy - My approach Warmth and empathy are the cornerstones to my approach. I use the humanistic model of Emotionally Focused Therapy as I help you to slow down, to understand your internal emotional experience and how you attempt to keep yourself in that safe zone. I support you as you discover this process and shift towards being able to regulate your emotional world, connect better with yourself and others, reach your goals and feel calm and capable. To make an appointment: https://www.westactoneft.com/services-2 daily 0.75 2025-07-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1589847896255-71GDMB4JOGTFXFRK00TD/image-asset.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1589847895626-I0RS2T6LQGM9IRYBEERM/image-asset.jpeg https://www.westactoneft.com/store daily 0.75 2023-01-26 https://www.westactoneft.com/store/p/hold-me-tight-workshop-registration monthly 0.5 2023-01-23