Christy Hofsess

My work with individuals is relationally based. Using our relationship as a place to explore parts of yourself more deeply, your relationship with and to yourself becomes more in focus when we work together. I find that within the safety of a therapeutic relationship, people can explore new parts of themselves, and these insights can lead to changes outside of therapy and often within other relationships that help them improve the problems in their life. I hope to be a warm and gentle presence, while also challenging you to examine parts of your life that aren’t working for you, and I share my observations with you with direct and compassionate communication. I work with you to explore the root cause of your current problems, struggles, or pain in your life. Grounded in an interpersonal, family systems and an attachment-based and trauma informed lens, we may explore the influence of your past on your present life. Together we explore your experiences more deeply, with an aim to heal and process hurts, disconnections, losses, traumas, so as to create more room in your life for experiences and relationships that bring you joy, fulfillment, and purpose. My work with couples is grounded in an evidence-based, systematic framework called Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), developed by Dr. Sue Johnson. This approach is grounded in the science of attachment and bonding. People want to feel secure in their primary relationship. When you are fighting or disconnected from the person you love, it is painful. The aim of this approach is to help couples strengthen their bond and create deeper connections with each other by changing problematic cycles and targeting key emotional interactions. I am active and direct yet gentle and also focused in my work with you. I help you move beyond the ways of interacting that aren’t working anymore. This means we address your fighting and defensive patterns to develop more effective ways of relating and communicating. You may be a couple who doesn’t fight a lot, but instead experiences your relationship as distant, not close, or living in parallel lives. I help you address the patterns that keep you from feeling the closeness you want. We start by identifying patterns you get stuck in that lead to more disconnection and I help give you a framework, language and skills to use to share your experiences, your feelings and needs to one another. As a couples therapist with an attachment based framework, I will meet with you each individually as we get started to explore how your family and relationship history influence your current relationship dynamics. I help you explore how to feel more secure in your relationship and increase your responsiveness to each other. Sometimes couples therapy ends in separation, and I support you through difficult choices especially if they lead to ending your relationship. I look forward to hearing from you.