We help couples and individuals strengthen relationships in Encinitas and virtually throughout California.
Integrative Couples Therapy
Cristina Trette, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
I am Cristina Trette, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the Founder of Integrative Couples Therapy.
If you are here, it is likely because your relationships matter deeply to you. You may be preparing for marriage and wanting to protect the love you share. Or, you may be in a long term marriage or relationship and feel stuck in ongoing conflict, emotional distance, or tension that does not seem to ease. You may be working to reconnect after betrayal, noticing the loss of emotional or sexual intimacy, or feeling uncertain about the future of your relationship or family. Whatever has brought you here, this is a place to slow down, take a breath, and be supported.
At Integrative Couples Therapy, we help couples and individuals strengthen communication, rebuild trust, and deepen intimacy. Our work focuses on helping people feel more understood, more connected, and more secure in their relationships. We slow things down, make sense of patterns that keep relationships stuck, and support meaningful repair and reconnection.
Our team is trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy, an evidence based, attachment rooted approach that helps relationships grow stronger and more secure. With the right support, meaningful change is possible. You are welcome here, and it would be an honor to support you in strengthening the love in your life.
Our Specialties
-
We help couples and individuals improve communication by helping you slow down conversations and making space for what is really being said underneath the words. Together, we work to shift patterns that lead to misunderstandings, defensiveness, or shutdown, and build ways of speaking and listening that feel clearer and more respectful. Over time, communication becomes less reactive and more connected, making it easier to feel understood and close again.
-
Our work is rooted in attachment and the understanding that emotional connection is a basic human need. Whether you are in couples therapy or working individually, we focus on strengthening your sense of emotional safety, responsiveness, and trust in connection. By supporting secure attachment, relationships become more stable, resilient, and able to grow through both closeness and challenge.
-
Sexual intimacy is often closely tied to emotional connection and trust, and it can be affected by stress, life transitions, relationship challenges, or past experiences. We work with couples and individuals to create a supportive space to talk openly about intimacy, desire, and eroticism, at a pace that feels comfortable and respectful.
-
Infidelity and betrayal can shake the foundation of a relationship and deeply affect all involved. We offer both couples therapy and individual therapy to support you through this process, meeting you where you are and honoring the complexity of what you are facing. Whether you are working together to rebuild trust or healing individually, we provide a steady, non-judgmental space to process the pain, understand what happened, and move forward with greater clarity and care.
-
We support parents at every stage of family life, working with couples, individuals, and coparents as relationships grow and change. Our approach is rooted in attachment and focuses on strengthening the emotional bonds that help families feel connected. Whether you are navigating early parenthood, raising children or teens, managing mental health challenges, or coparenting through separation or divorce, we help you slow down, understand patterns, and build secure parent-child and parent-parent relationships.
-
We support couples and individuals navigating relationship transitions, including separation, divorce, breakups, or uncertainty and ambivalence. We offer a confidential and thoughtful space to help you slow down, find clarity, and move forward. Whether you are working toward repair or reshaping your relationship, our focus is on helping you communicate with respect, protect what matters most, and cultivate intention and care.
Therapy Services
-
Couples Therapy
Couples therapy is designed for couples wanting to work as a team to improve communication, resolve conflict, and enhance intimacy.
-
Premarital Counseling
Premarital counseling helps couples create a solid foundation while developing relationship skills.
-
Couples Intensive
We provide a private immerse experience for couples wanting to dive deep into healing their relationship over two days in person.
-
Individual Therapy
Individual therapy assists those wanting support with understanding attachment and creating safe and secure relationship dynamics on their own.
Workshops
-

Relationship Workshop ~ Online
February 11 to March 18, 2026
6:00pm to 7:00pm, Six Wednesdays
$195 full series, $40 session, per person
Open to couples & individuals
Zoom ~ Live Virtual
Facilitated by Marissa Massimini, LMFT
-

Couples Workshop ~ Encinitas
February 28 and March 1
10:00am to 5:00pm, Saturday and Sunday
$695 per couple
Open to couples
Encinitas, California ~ In Person
Facilitated by Cristina Trette, LMFT
Our Team
-

Cristina Trette
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
-

Cara McDowell
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
-

Marissa Massimini
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Our Mission and Values
At Integrative Couples Therapy, our mission is to help others connect with the people that matter to them, and to thrive, in their relationships, personally, and with family. We believe that secure and loving relationships are at the heart of a meaningful life, and with the right support, people can heal and grow together. We envision a world where marriage and family therapy is embraced without stigma and the value of love and family relationships is recognized, celebrated, and cherished.
Connection Comes First
Strong relationships are essential to wellbeing. We value connection in all forms, within partnerships, families, and communities, and we approach our work with care, collaboration, and respect for the importance of human bonds.
Integrity and Care
We are committed to practicing with professionalism, thoughtfulness, and ethical care. Our team values honesty, responsibility, and lifelong learning, and we strive to show up with integrity in our work and relationships.
Compassion and Understanding
We believe people and their behaviors make sense in the context of attachment. We approach our work with empathy, curiosity, and hope, holding a deep respect for each person’s capacity for growth and change. Challenges are met with kindness, clarity, and care.
Responsiveness and Presence
Feeling supported starts with feeling seen and heard. We value warmth, responsiveness, and engaged care, and we aim to be thoughtful and attentive as we walk alongside you in your process.
