Welcome to Integrative Couples Therapy in Encinitas, California where we specialize in helping couples strengthen communication, connection, and intimacy.
We believe that loving relationships are at the heart of meaningful life. We can help you:
Strengthen your bond and preserve the love you share
Revitalize emotional and sexual intimacy
Parent or coparent as a team and create a peaceful family life
Learn new ways to communicate and navigate conflict
Heal and move forward after infidelity or betrayal
Bolster commitment, partnership, and trust
Find clarity and confidence on the direction of your marriage
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 sexual intimacy.
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Couples Intensive
Our two day private couples intensive offers a focused and supportive space to begin rebuilding connection, trust, and clarity together.
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Couples Workshop
Our two day couples workshop offers couples the opportunity to strengthen communication, connection and intimacy in a small group setting.
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Premarital Counseling
Premarital counseling helps couples that are dating, or preparing for marriage, create a solid foundation while developing relationship skills.
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Individual Therapy
Individual therapy provides a confidential space for individuals to explore their relationships and attachment patterns without a partner or spouse present in therapy.
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Discernment Counseling
Discernment Counseling is a short term process for couples on the brink of divorce that are seeking clarity on whether to stay together or seperate.
Specialities
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Communication
We help you slow down and understand what is happening beneath the surface of your conversations. Rather than getting stuck in patterns of blame, shutdown, or escalation, we can guide you to express yourself in a way that can be heard.
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Emotional Connection
We help you build a close and connected bond that becomes a steady foundation for your relationship. Connection creates a buffer for conflict and instills resilience. We help your relationship become more secure with lasting love.
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Sexual Intimacy
Sexual intimacy is an important part of many relationships, reflecting both physical closeness and emotional depth. It can be impacted by stress, disconnection, past hurts, or differences in desire. We help you approach sex through a relational lens and with care and openness.
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Infidelity
We help you understand what happened, engage in honest conversations, process emotions, grief, and loss, and support the rebuilding of trust. We can help you find your footing and create a path forward with care and intention, on your own or with your partner.
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Parenting and Family
Parenting and family life can be deeply rewarding, and can bring stress and conflict. We help you understand what is happening beneath the surface, during challenging parenting moments, so you can respond to your child, and partner or co-parent, with confidence and responsiveness.
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Brink of Divorce
We help facilitate honest dialogue so you can develop confidence and clarity about the direction of your marriage based on a deeper understanding of what has happened in your relationship. Whether you decide to save your marriage or separate, we help instill mutual respect.
Our Team
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Marissa Massimini
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
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Cara McDowell
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
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Cristina Trette
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
You have options when it comes to 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 and our specialty. We are well versed in the common challenges relationships sometimes face, such as difficulties with communication, sexual intimacy, and emotional connection. We are also well experienced in bigger struggles or relationship 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 distress often opens the door to more healing. This may include trauma, parenting, family dynamics, alcohol use, anxiety or depression. When helpful, we coordinate care within our team and connect you with trusted professionals and resources in our 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 life experience, 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
