Couples therapists in Santa Cruz, CA

Hi, I'm J! I'm a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 25 years of experience working with individuals and relationships across a range of settings, from community mental health to private practice. My approach is interactive, dynamic, and deeply engaged, because I believe real progress happens when therapy feels like a genuine partnership. Whether you're navigating long-standing challenges or facing something new, I'm here to help you move forward. I currently see clients via Telehealth and can't wait to connect with you!

I have been a therapist for 52 years. Due to a long history with many types of people in many settings, I am able to work with a wide array of people. I am well known for my capacity to listen, my warmth, and my ability to connect. Gentle humor is an important part of my work and personality.

You have probably been carrying something for a while without saying it out loud: anxiety that will not switch off, grief that still ambushes you, drinking that stopped feeling like a choice, or trauma your body has not put down. Helping people find their way through that feels like my sacred calling. Ever since I was young, I've been the person who deeply listens, and I've always sensed the healing that happens when we finally have a trusted, compassionate witness to our story. The story you carry about your past can be the source of your suffering or the key to your freedom, and together we can gently begin to shift it. Whatever pain you're holding, you don't have to hold it alone. I work with individuals, and with couples and families who want to find their way back to each other.

Hello, Heather here. LMFT in Florida & California. My mission in therapy is to create a space where you will feel safe enough to just be yourself. I understand how difficult it is to seek counseling, to open up and share your experiences and struggles with another person. Therapy is my passion and I have over 25 years providing positive, successful & attainable results with various clients.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with experience spanning child welfare, institutional settings like the Department of Corrections and Kaiser Permanente, and private practice. This give me a uniquely grounded perspective on the full range of human experience. I've worked extensively with families, adolescents, and adults, helping people navigate mood and personality disorders, domestic violence, anger management, and the complex aftermath of adoption and reunification. I am culturally competent and committed to meeting every client exactly where they are, with unconditional positive regard and a deep belief that there are always underlying causes behind the symptoms and behaviors that bring someone to therapy.

I did my training with adoptees, foster care, and attachment trauma. I specialize in trauma and how early childhood trauma continues to effect us into adulthood. Since becoming a therapist, I have continued my training with trauma and have extensive experience with positive parenting, managing work/life balance, managing life's challenging transitions, managing trauma reminders, and anxiety.

Welcome. I'm a licensed psychotherapist dedicated to supporting people who are going through a tough life transition, whether it’s a diagnosis, relationship loss, other loss, or it’s you who have changed. You may be stressed, burnt out, depressed, anxious, and/or traumatized by what you are going through and carrying. You don’t have to do this alone. You can find your spark again. I have specialized training in somatic psychotherapy and evidence-based mindfulness therapies. As a person living with T1D, I love working with others in the diabetes community, and I understand the mental load and energy it takes, every single day.