Heart and Meaning Psychotherapy & Coaching
Sasha Raskin, PhD Candidate, LPC. Couples Therapy and Family Therapy & Coaching in Boulder, CO and Online
Are you looking for a couples and family therapist to help you with family problems or relationship problems ?
I'm Sasha Raskin, PhD Candidate, LPC, and I can help you create a sustainable positive change so that your relationship can become better than it ever was. I provide couples therapy , couples intensives, and family therapy in person in my office in Boulder or via video online counseling (depending on the clients' preference), drawing from over ten years of clinical experience. In the past, besides my work with clients, I've also been training the next generation of psychotherapists as an Adjunct Faculty at Naropa University.
I get it. Relationships are not easy in normal times. And following a long period of pandemic, after the initial shock has passed, the emotional long tail often catches up with us. After more than a year when you were anxious and stressed and had to stay together 24/7, many couples struggled with the kids constantly demanding their attention, with a lack of separation between work and home (that if there was work still), with difficulties agreeing on how to relate to the COVID-19 pandemic.
So it's no wonder, that together with all the new stressors such as rising inflation, political crises and uncertainties across the world, and the fact that no one actually taught you how to manage a romantic relationship in school, all of the problems in your relationship got magnified.
This is the most important time for you to get support for your relationship! We'll be either meeting in my office in Boulder or online via video calls, whatever works best for you, focusing on what is most immediate for you right now.
If you're here, you might be thinking:
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I feel so lonely in this relationship
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We can’t stop fighting
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I don’t understand why we argue so much
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Something has changed in our relationship
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I miss how things were in the beginning
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I’m frustrated with my partner
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I’m not satisfied with our sex life
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We never spend time with each other
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I feel hopeless - maybe we should separate
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I don’t feel like I’m a priority in my partner’s life
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The kids keep getting in the way of our relationship
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The kids are grown and we don’t know how to relate to each other anymore
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I think my partner is cheating on me
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I can’t get over the affair
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I don’t trust my partner anymore
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My partner will never change
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I’m afraid our relationship is over
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I’m done
Let me assure you, there is a clear process for you to get clarity about what is not working and then go ahead and change what needs to change, supported by me.
We'll get underneath the surface symptoms, such as communication problems and lack of sexual satisfaction. We'll learn how to transform loneliness, lack of connection, conflicts, and hopelessness. We will use research-based ways to strengthen your relationship, improve your style of communicating and negotiating needs. We will deepen your level of intimacy and help you discover and implement practical ways to take your relationship into greater levels of satisfaction beyond what you’ve experienced in the past.
My clients have found that our time together has helped them to work through challenging conversations, and express what has not been said for too long. They have been able to rekindle passion and love, reach a new level of connection and intimacy, or honestly consider other options for how to move forward in a supportive and safe environment. I've worked with many couples that were on a brink of divorce, that were hurt by an affair, and could not fully commit. I've seen it all and I am sure, I can help you too.
With one of my mentors Stan Tatkin, the founder of PACT couples therapy and the author of groundbreaking books such as "Wired for Love"
You will learn new ways of soothing each other and responding to each other’s needs. You will practice proven ways of communication that are respectful and clear. You will learn how to move through disagreements, really listen to what the other is saying, and know that you have been heard. We will pinpoint destructive narratives, and build positive narratives of relationship. Feeling understood and cared for is a vital part of our work together.
When I begin working with clients on their challenges in couples therapy, I notice that they are struggling with many of the same issues:
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Communication problems
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Parenting
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Chores
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Lack of satisfaction in their sex life
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Arguments about finances
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Imbalance in financial contribution
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Disagreements around decision-making
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Jealousy
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Lack of trust
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Boredom
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Never spending time together
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A balance between life and work
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Discrepancies in needs for private versus together time
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Dealing with immediate and extended family members
We will work collaboratively to face these issues head-on in a supportive, effective and safe way!
Clients I’ve worked with have created an improved version of their relationship, learned new more effective ways to communicate, how to give and receive support, have better quality time together, state their needs and have their needs met. As a consequence, they feel more fulfilled, more joy, respect, and love towards each other.
You can, too. I look forward to helping you create the relationship you’ve always wanted!
To better help the couples I work with, I was trained in the major modalities of couples therapy (and if the founders were still alive and teaching, I have sought them out to train with them directly):
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Gottman Couples Therapy
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Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy
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Solution Focused Therapy
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Brief Strategic Therapy
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Structural Therapy
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Narrative Therapy
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PACT
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Sex Therapy
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and more
With my mentors Drs. John and Julie Gottman, the biggest researchers in couples therapy, the founders of Gottman couples therapy, and the bestselling authors of books such "The 7 principles for making marriage work"