We specialize in helping couples and individuals strengthen relationships in Encinitas, California and online
Welcome to Integrative Couples Therapy
At Integrative Couples Therapy we help couples and individuals strengthen relationships. You may be:
• Preparing for marriage and want to protect the love you share
• Caught in frequent arguments and want to communicate better
• Feeling more like roommates than lovers and miss the connection you once had
• Healing from infidelity or betrayal and need support
• Noticing a loss of sexual intimacy and hope to rebuild your bond
• Struggling to get on the same page around parenting or family life
• Thinking about or taking steps toward divorce and want clarity and peace
We believe that connected relationships are at the heart of a meaningful life, and with the right support, meaningful change is possible. We welcome you to reach out to learn more about working with our team.
Services
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Couples Therapy
Couples therapy is designed for couples wanting to work as a team to improve communication, resolve conflict, and enhance intimacy.
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Individual Therapy
Individual therapy provides the space for you to strengthen relationships, family, and personal wellbeing without a partner present.
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Couples Workshop
Our couples workshop offers a two day immersive experience for a small group of couples dedicated to working on their relationship.
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Couples Intensive
A private couples intensive offers two focused days of deep relational work for couples needing immersive and focused support.
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Premarital Counseling
Premarital counseling helps couples that are dating, or preparing for marriage, to create a solid foundation while developing relationship skills.
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Discernment Counseling
Discernment Counseling is a short term process designed to help couples find clarity and confidence in next steps when they are on the brink of divorce.
Our Specialties
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 trying to decide if you want to reconcile or you are taking steps toward divorce, our focus is on helping you communicate with respect, protect what matters most, and cultivate intention and care.
Our Team
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Cara McDowell
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
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Marissa Massimini
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
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Cristina Trette
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
You have options when it comes to couples therapy. Here is how our approach is different.
We Specialize in Couples and Relationships
Helping couples and individuals heal and grow in relationships is the heart of our practice. Many therapists work with couples but at Integrative Couples Therapy, we are immersed in helping couples and relationships. We are well versed in the common challenges couples face, such as difficulties with communication, intimacy, and connection. We are also well experienced in helping couples navigate bigger struggles or crisis such as infidelity, escalated conflict, and divorce. Whether you come with your partner or on your own, your relationships remain central and are strengthened through the work we do together.
Integrative Approach
We understand that your relationships are deeply interconnected with your overall mental health and wellbeing. Relationship challenges often open the door to more healing within the couple, individually or with your family. This may include family conflict, substance use, anxiety, depression, trauma or parenting. When helpful, we collaborate within our team or connect you with trusted professionals in our collective or the broader community so you receive comprehensive support.
Grounded in Research and Ongoing Training
Our work is rooted in attachment science and Emotionally Focused Therapy, one of the most researched and effective approaches to relationship healing. We continually pursue advanced training and consultation so the care you receive is thoughtful, current, and effective.
Professional and Clinical Maturity
We practice with care, consistency, and ethical responsibility. We bring clinical depth, steadiness, and compassionate guidance to help you understand the patterns that keep you stuck and move toward meaningful, lasting change.
Warm, Personal, and Engaged Care
As a small boutique practice, we are accessible, responsive, and engaged. We are real people, with our own relationships and families, who genuinely care about our clients. We are committed to our own relational and personal growth, and bring that same dedication to the work we do with you.
Cristina Trette, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

