Couples Therapy
Creating space for repair
Where the heart can speak
Feeling Alone Together
Over the years, I’ve met many couples who still care deeply for each other but find themselves caught in the same arguments, misunderstandings, or painful silences.
Conversations that once felt easy now go wrong quickly. Partners begin walking on eggshells or avoiding difficult topics, and it can slowly start to feel as though you are living side by side rather than truly together.
Many couples notice they begin to feel more like roommates, co-parents, or partners managing daily life than two people who once felt emotionally close. They are often left wondering how things drifted so far — and whether closeness can be found again.
When you come to me, we begin by slowing things down and looking carefully at what has been happening between you. From the very first conversation, the aim is to help you see more clearly what may be keeping you stuck — and what might begin to shift.
All sessions are conducted online, allowing couples to attend therapy together from wherever they are.
How We Begin
Couples work tends to be most helpful when we first step back and gain a clearer understanding of what has been happening in the relationship. For this reason, our work begins with a Relationship Clarity & Direction Consultation before moving into ongoing therapy.
Many couples find that this focused conversation itself brings meaningful perspective and relief, helping them understand their situation more clearly and consider the most constructive way forward.
Phase 1: Relationship Clarity & Direction Consultation
This 90-minute consultation creates space to slow down and look carefully at the relationship — what has been happening, what patterns may be keeping you stuck, and what each of you hopes might change.
Before we meet, both partners complete background questionnaires along with the Gottman Relationship Checkup, which offers valuable insight into relationship patterns and areas of strain.
The consultation includes a 45-minute individual session shared between both partners, followed by a 45-minute joint conversation where we bring these perspectives together. Drawing on what emerges in our conversations, along with the insights from the questionnaires and Gottman assessment, I share my understanding of the deeper patterns shaping your relationship and offer clear guidance on the most constructive way forward.
For many couples, this clarity becomes the foundation for rebuilding the relationship. For others, it helps bring greater understanding about what kind of support or direction may be most appropriate moving forward.
Phase 2: Individual Sessions
If we decide to continue into couples therapy, we begin with one 50-minute individual session with each partner. These conversations deepen understanding of personal patterns, emotional triggers, and ways each person may unintentionally contribute to the patterns in the relationship .
This step often helps reduce reactivity and creates a stronger foundation for the couples sessions that follow.
Phase 3: Ongoing Couples Sessions
With this foundation in place, joint sessions focus on improving communication, repairing trust, resolving resentments, and rebuilding connection while developing healthier ways of relating.
As conversations become safer and less reactive, partners gradually move away from defensiveness and self-protection toward listening and responding with greater care — learning, over time, to relate from a more open and heart-centred place rather than from patterns of hurt or blame.
Meaningful change takes time and practice, and regular sessions allow new patterns to take root in everyday life.
The Space I Hold
I aim to create a calm, respectful, and steady space where both partners feel safe enough to speak honestly, even when conversations are difficult.
My work draws from research-based approaches such as Gottman Couples Therapy, along with mindfulness-based and heart-centred perspectives including Nonviolent Communication, Internal Family Systems, and contemplative traditions from Yoga and Buddhist psychology. Rather than following a rigid method, I adapt the work to what each couple needs.
At the heart of the process is helping both partners recognise the patterns they become caught in and take responsibility for their own responses. As awareness grows and reactivity settles, couples often begin to find new ways of listening, responding, and reconnecting with one another.
My role is not to take sides, but to help both partners see what keeps them stuck and develop healthier ways of relating.
“I can do nothing for you but work on myself. You can do nothing for me but work on yourself.” — Ram Dass
And often, with greater understanding and care, couples can begin to rediscover moments of connection and a renewed sense of being together.
Considering Separation
If separation or divorce has entered the conversation, you may feel confused, pressured, or emotionally exhausted — especially when children or extended family are involved.
Discernment counseling offers couples a space to slow down and gain clarity before making life-changing decisions.
Through a combination of joint and individual sessions, we explore whether genuine effort toward repair feels possible, or whether separation may be the healthier path forward.
The aim is not to push couples toward staying together, but to help each partner arrive at a decision with clarity and steadiness, whatever direction the relationship ultimately takes.
Tara , we can't thank you enough! We are both back together after our separation as we could work things out between us on the basis of your analysis & guidance, we now know our limitations as a couple & are working to make our relationship better. We will have to say none of this would have been possible without your counseling. I hope couples in trouble find you & eventually find themselves. In fact, the questions in the Checkup Questionnaire made us think about ourselves & our lives ahead & had a lasting impact. Thank you again!
Deciding to do Couples Therapy with Tara was one of the best decisions of my life. Not only did I feel heard and understood for the first time in my life, she also made me realize my partner's emotional state. Couples Therapy requires both partners to work upon the suggestions given to them. Unfortunately, this was not the case with us. Though my husband and I are still living separately, Tara helped me find peace and patience to wait and work upon myself. I have a ten month old son and I am making the most of every day and travel alone with him — Tara played a very important role in helping me realize this hidden strength inside me.
