About Kendra

Why I Do This Work

You can be successful in almost every area of your life and still feel completely stuck in your relationship, including when you are the one who usually knows what to do.

I have spent more than 20 years working with couples, and the couples who struggle most are often capable people who were never shown how a relationship actually works under stress. Being good at solving problems elsewhere can make it particularly frustrating when you cannot figure this one out.

You are accustomed to solving problems through effort and intelligence. A relationship does not respond the way a project does, and the same drive that built your career can undermine it when you cannot see the pattern, or your contribution to it.

I built this practice for couples who are ready to take an honest look at what is happening. You have probably already tried advice that sounds reasonable and changes nothing at home.

How long have things felt this way? And what is going to change if you keep doing what you are doing?

My Approach

I practice Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), the couples approach with the strongest research behind it. We look at the pattern underneath the fight and work toward a connection that feels more secure, because a list of communication tips has not fixed this or you would not still be here.

I am trained in the Gottman Method at Level 3, which gives me a research-based way to see what predicts whether a couple repairs or keeps sliding. I am also trained in Relational Life Therapy and in sex therapy, because intimacy problems need training that most couples therapists have not done.

I am a Certified Neurodiverse Couples Therapist (AANE). When autism or ADHD is part of the relationship, advice that ignores that difference usually leaves both of you more frustrated.

I lead the session, and I lead it with you. I will tell you what I see, even when it is uncomfortable, and if the conversation starts going in circles I will stop it. I will ask each of you to look at your own part, because you can have a legitimate complaint about your partner and still be contributing to the dynamic you want to change. If something I am doing is not landing, say so. I adjust.

I work with all couples, including LGBTQ+ couples and couples who are polyamorous or consensually nonmonogamous. You do not need to be married, and you do not need to explain or defend your relationship structure to me.

How Long It Takes

There is no honest number I can give every couple before meeting them. What brings you in matters, and so does what you are willing to do between sessions.

We generally start weekly, because that is what lets a change show up at home. As you follow through, we space the sessions out, and we will talk about ending when you trust yourselves to handle a difficult moment without needing me to walk you through it.

Understanding something in our conversation is useful. The measure is what changes at your kitchen table.

Accountability Without Judgment

Most couples who call me are stuck, which usually means they are exhausted, hurt, or both. I understand that. Caring was never the missing piece.

I will still ask you to look at your contribution. If all your attention stays on what your partner needs to change, you are leaving your ability to feel better entirely in their hands, even when your frustration with them is justified.

If a conversation starts going in circles, I will name it, and if you are both avoiding the real topic, we will go there. That can feel uncomfortable. I will stay steady, and I will not lecture you.

If you want someone to nod and send you home unchanged, I am the wrong person. If you want to understand what is actually happening and do something different, the consultation is where we start.

Why 90-Minute Sessions

A 50-minute hour was built for individual work. Couples therapy is more complicated: two perspectives, a pattern between you, and emotions that take time to reach, so a short session often ends just as you get to the conversation you have been avoiding.

I want enough time to get into what is happening and to land somewhere before we stop. That is why sessions are 90 minutes. You are less likely to leave raw and start the next session further back.