About Claire
If I can be happily married, anyone can. In the movie, “A Good Woman,” Helen Hunt’s character said that being married was like being shut up in a room that got smaller every year. That was always my fear. Now I know that that’s what happens when you can’t count on your partner to help you achieve your most important desires in life. Then marriage becomes just one compromise after another.
I learned it didn’t have to be that way. My husband and I could make it our top priority to understand and try to fulfill each other’s desires. When you do that, you build a connection that is irreplaceable. It doesn’t mean you never have problems or don’t have to compromise. But it does mean that the satisfactions of your marriage are deep, and far outweigh the frustrations.
I bring to my work advanced training in couples counseling and conflict resolution. That includes Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, the Gottman Method, and a certificate in mediation. I have made a special study of the principles of motivation, and use them to help my clients understand what is driving their emotions and interactions.
For 20+ years, my career has included counseling for depression, anxiety and serious mental illnesses; crisis work; finding homes for foster children; counseling abused women; and mediation with divorced parents. You could say I’ve seen it all!
For the last 10 years, I’ve focused on couples counseling. When relationship stress hits, it can be overwhelming. And nothing’s right when your marriage isn’t right. Sometimes I wonder how I’d handle my own marriage conflicts without my mental health tools. I know it would be a lot harder. That’s why I love giving couples the tools they need to put the hard times behind them and get their connection back.
