Vanessa Beth Tate, LMFT
Marriage & Family Therapist | Claimed

Life is about being in relationships: cardinal, platonic, shades of gray, blood-related, and everything in between. Being in relationships takes conscious work which is sometimes enjoyable and sometimes challenging. This work gets easier when we get better acquainted with ourselves and more authentic with the other. If you pay attention, since birth, our relationships follow a repeated rhythm of closeness, disruption, repair. I don't just work with couples who want to stay together, but also those wanting to open their marriages, divorce, and/or consciously uncouple. I work with couples to better understand themselves and their contribution to their dance. Helping a person understand when behaving from their "adaptive child" (required from childhood) versus being present in their "functional adult" (required for adulthood) creates a changed experience in the tango they enact with their partner. To do this, I work experientially in the room exploring your minds and bodies. I teach couples active listening, assertive, authentic, Nonviolent communication skills combined with increased awareness of body sensations and language to forge greater harmony.

My approach to couples work is influenced by Somatic informed Attachment Theory, Esther Perel, Terry Real, Hakomi and Stan Tatkin.