Interpersonal challenges

Open communication, feedback and boundary setting

Perhaps you’ve recognized recurring patterns in communication with a partner, close friend, family member, or colleague that are leading you to feel unheard or misunderstood. Maybe you’ve noticed that some of your relationships have evolved in ways that make you question your ongoing investment in them and you’re looking for clarity on which steps to take next to prioritize your needs and values. Or maybe you’ve been working to enhance effective communication in a long-standing, strained relationship and in need of on-going support in the process.

 My approach to working on relational issues

I focus on both the current relationship stressors mis-alignments, while also exploring the roots of problematic or ineffective patterns of behavior through family of origin work. I believe it’s essential to understand the drivers of specific behaviors or reactions and to understand why, at some point in time, they were adaptive or perhaps the best option available. We’ll also build interpersonal effectiveness skills and create a more concrete plan of action to make a change in the affective relationship(s). I draw extensively from Attachment Theory and incorporate skills and tools from Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). I also utilize an Internal Family Systems (IFS) lens when helping clients understand the roots of some of their wounds and how these past experiences impact current interpersonal dynamics.

While confrontation may sound intimidating, I see it as means of gathering information and inviting the other party to get closer to one’s inner experience. By giving specific and direct feedback and clarifying perspectives, we open up more space to look at the points of challenge and identify objective, incremental steps toward shifting the dynamic. I’ll help you identify the appropriate tools and build confidence through practice, so you can effectively engage others and broach difficult topics.