How We Treat
Research-based couples therapy with licensed clinicians, in person in San Pedro and virtually across California.
The Gottman Method and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) are two of the most researched approaches to couples work, and they fit together well. The Gottman Method is practical and structured, with tools for handling conflict, rebuilding friendship, and creating a shared sense of meaning. EFT looks underneath the arguments at the emotions and attachment needs driving them, helping you turn toward each other instead of away. Many of our clinicians draw on both, matched to what your relationship actually needs.
Together these approaches help couples facing a range of struggles.
Emotional disconnection and the feeling that you have drifted apart.
Repeated, looping conflict where the same fight keeps coming back.
Steady, structured work to repair the bond after a betrayal.
Reconnecting when partnership has faded into logistics and routine.
Sessions are active and even-handed, with both partners in the room and the therapist helping you hear each other.
Early on, your therapist learns what brought you in, your history together, and what you each hope for.
You take a looping conflict and pause it to see what is really happening underneath.
You practice a new way of asking for what you need instead of attacking or withdrawing.
You work on listening without defensiveness so both partners feel understood.
You leave with something concrete you can use between sessions, not just insight.
Several Coastwise clinicians are trained in Gottman, EFT, or both, and they bring in individual approaches when something one partner is carrying is affecting the relationship. When you reach out, we match you to a clinician whose training fits where your relationship is.
Couples therapy works well both in the room and over secure video, and virtual sessions can make it easier to attend together. See us in San Pedro or work with a clinician anywhere in California.
Both approaches help couples who feel stuck in conflict, disconnected, or shaken after a betrayal. They are well supported for relationship distress, communication breakdown, repeated arguments, and rebuilding trust and closeness.
The Gottman Method is research-based and practical, with tools for managing conflict, deepening friendship, and creating shared meaning. Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) focuses on the emotions and attachment needs underneath your conflicts, helping you reach for each other instead of pulling away. Many of our clinicians draw on both, matched to what your relationship needs.
It helps when both partners are willing to try, but it is common for one person to feel more hopeful than the other at the start. We will talk with you both about what you each want and work at a pace that feels safe for both of you.
Yes. Rebuilding trust after betrayal is one of the things these approaches are designed for. It takes time and honesty from both partners, and a skilled therapist helps you move through it in a structured, steadying way.
Yes. Couples therapy works well over secure video, which can also make it easier to attend together around busy schedules. We offer it in person in San Pedro and virtually across California.
Call us for a free consultation and we will match you to a couples clinician trained in Gottman and EFT.
Call (424) 536-3002 Get Started