Couples Therapist Tara Anand

About Me

I Specialize in Couples Therapy & Relationship Coaching

Overcome Ego-Based Patterns to Forge a Heart-Centred Bond

In my experience, many ongoing problems in a marriage can be sorted out without any outside help—if we are self-aware, ready to put in the work & know how to speak and listen to each other from the heart, with vulnerability and honesty.

But this is not an easy task, and that’s where I come in—serving as a neutral bridge between both partners and providing a helping hand for carefully untangling the knots.

I’m Tara, and I have been in the field of Marriage & Family Counseling since 2013. I specialize in helping couples work through their problems, resolve conflicts, repair past injuries & learn more wholesome ways to communicate & connect with each other.

My approach to Couples Therapy & Marriage Counseling is scientifically-backed, holistic and tailored for the unique needs of each couple— I combine research-backed methods such as Gottman Couples Therapy, Internal Family Systems with Heart-Centered techniques based on Mindfulness & Non-Violent Communication to foster a heart-to-heart connection between partners.

This Work Matters to Me

I have experienced first-hand just how deeply the quality of a marriage can impact a family— for better or worse— and how long-standing these effects can be, especially on children. Well-meaning friends and relatives usually end up causing more confusion and misunderstanding rather than helping matters. What is needed at such a stage is someone who can skillfully bridge the communication gap between both partners, helping them uncover and process their true feelings and unmet needs.

Since I personally couldn’t find such support when I was unhappy in my first marriage, I care a great deal about helping others in similar situations.

I know that relationships can truly flourish when both partners are committed to doing the work and learn how to show up for each other — I have managed to do so in my personal life with my husband and I see it happen professionally, in my work with struggling couples.

Watching this healing process unfold is truly fulfilling and I consider it a privilege that I get to do this work. This is why I have made Couples Therapy the focus of my private therapy practice —it is work I am passionate and dedicated to.

A 'Boutique' Therapy Practice

Having a ‘Boutique’ Therapy practice means that I intentionally choose to work with a select, small number of clients at any given time to ensure that I can provide the highest level of personalized attention & care to each one. This benefits you in many ways :

You can be confident that the quality of care you will receive is thoughtful, customized to meet your individual needs & will feel unrushed.
Maintaining a smaller practice allows me to have time between sessions to carefully process, analyze, review, do any additional research & plan for our subsequent sessions.
I am able to respond to you in between sessions over email or WhatsApp in case you need urgent support
It enables me to regularly read relevant research, participate in trainings & continue to expand & update my knowledge base & therapeutic tool box to better meet your needs
I am able to provide holistic care by working with each partner individually — this gives me deeper insight & an expanded perspective on the relationship which helps us get to the roots of complex issues & work on them from both ends (each partner) in a relatively quicker time period.

My Areas of Expertise

I have trained in a broad spectrum of modalities all of which I combine in my work with couples:

I am a trained counselor with an International Graduate Diploma in Counseling—I combine different methods of psychotherapy such as Person Centered Therapy, Attachment Theory, Internal Family Systems, Emotion Focused Therapy & Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in my work
I have completed Level 1 Training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy & the Gottman training for Treating Affairs & Trauma
I am an approved member of the Gottman Relationship Checkup which helps me provide clear insight to couples into their unique relationship issues, and provide a scientifically-backed, systematic strategy to work through these issues for building a stronger bond. Interestingly, my research and analysis skills, honed while working in the market research field for over fifteen years (prior to training as a Counselor), are a definite advantage to my clients as it enhances my ability to diagnose their core issues & develop a comprehensive and thorough strategy for working through them.

My Expertise in Couples Therapy

Apart from the above, my training in other modalities vastly helps me support my clients holistically:

I have trained in Marshal Rosenberg’s ‘Non-Violent Communication’, which has formed the cornerstone of my personal relationships since 2009 and is a pillar of my work with couples.
I am a certified Yoga Teacher (from Sivananda Ashram Neyyar Dam) and a practitioner of classical Ashtanga Yoga (which other than the physical postures lays more emphasis on training the mind). I integrate yoga & meditation techniques to help calm the body, mind and facilitate self-awareness and understanding in my work.
I am a long-standing meditator— I practice meditation in several traditions such as Dhyana Yoga, Kriya Yoga, Insight Meditation (Vipassana) and Mindfulness based meditation which helps me be stay balanced & objective between both partners, not taking sides or allowing my perceptions to get in the way.
I have studied the mind-body connection extensively— apart from Yoga, I have learnt and practiced a wide array of alternate healing methods such as Pranic Healing, Theta Healing, TAT, SRT, Access Bars in the past. This understanding gives me insight into working with the ‘Inner Child’ and childhood baggage of both partners that gets repeatedly triggered in their relationship,
I am student of the Wisdom Traditions such as Yoga philosophy, Theravada Buddhism and have found that these ancient teachings have a lot of practical advice on how we can achieve harmony in relationships.

Also …

I am a writer and a poet. If you would like to know more about my personal journey, check out my memoir on Amazon, ‘Why the Lotus Blooms: Choosing To Stand Tall’.
I am mom to my twenty-one year old daughter (from my first marriage) and two dogs (from my second marriage!).

If you have any questions or concerns you would like me to address, feel free to send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,

We've come a long way ... So can You

Repeated cycles of anger, blame, defensiveness, criticism can corrode any marriage. But with commitment, wisdom and heart-centered communication, the damage can be undone to begin a new chapter together

Read My Memoir

Even the most difficult relationship problems can be overcome, if both partners do their self-work and rise up to the challenge together