Gottman Referral Network

About

Welcome and thanks for checking out my profile! Choosing a therapist that you feel comfortable with can be challenging. It's my hope that you find this information about who I am, my professional credentials, and the issues that I specialize in treating helpful.

I am currently licensed in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Hawaii as an Independent Clinical Social Worker which allows me to provide psychotherapy services to individuals, families, couples and groups. I am also a board certified sex therapist through the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (www.aasect.org). The requirements to become a certified sex therapist are demanding and include completion of post graduate training and supervision.

I specialize in couples and healthy sexual relationships. I bring to you the combined knowledge of the three major approaches of attachment-based therapy for couples: Gottman Method Couples Therapy, Imago Relationship Therapy, and Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT). I am proud to be a Certified Gottman and Imago Therapist.

I am fluent in German, proficient in French, and have an international background. I have lived and worked in many regions of the world, including Germany, France, Samoa, and mainland China, where I was principal of an international Montessori school while raising my three children.

I see clients at my home office in Germantown, MD for regular sessions and intensive couples retreats. Many couples find that they are able to make more progress with intensives, because they have the time and emotional space to focus on their relationship, away from the daily pressures of modern life. Retreats include a thorough pre-retreat assessment and two follow-up videoconferencing sessions. I also offer retreats in Hawaii in February/March. Other times can be arranged. Online counseling delivered by a high-quality transmission of voice and video wherever you are in the world is available as well. To read more about me, my intensive retreats and online sessions please visit www.CouplesTherapyInc.com.

Life circumstances facilitated my desire to become a couples and sex therapist after a full career in education. Living through divorce left me emotionally drained and I have made it my mission to help couples get through tough times. A former couple has called me their connection coach. That is the role I want to take on for you.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about my practice. I invite you to call, text or email me for further information and an initial consultation.

What my clients have said about me:

Hello, we wanted to send you some feedback about our intensive with Angela: Angela was a wonderful therapist and truly an advocate for both of us, and our relationship, throughout the weekend intensive. Her approach was thoughtful, logical and easy to follow. She listened to our concerns and organized the weekend in a meaningful way to cover many of our needs. The feedback she provided was constructive and professional. I really feel a great sense of relief after our weekend with Angela. The follow up work and reading she gave us provides the framework we need to continue the work on our own. I would definitely recommend Angela to others looking for couples counseling.

We thought it might be nice for you to get some feedback on our retreat with Angela. Both my husband and I thought she was excellent. We have seen numerous therapists over the last three years and she by far exceeded all of our expectations. I got there on Friday with a lot of anger over our situation. By the time we left Sunday afternoon I felt free. She had a very nice way of not taking sides yet giving good strong comments and thought-provoking scenarios. She absolutely knew us when we got there and often referred to our history. She gave us practical tools to use for when I was very upset which included meditation, favorite songs, my partner holding me tight (with a safe word if I did not want that), breathing devices and apps to download. We had struggled with much pain and anger for almost 10 months and by the time we left we felt almost normal again with a new vision of our future and tools to use to improve our communication. Her own experience and having gone through a similar situation was also nice for me in particular. She was extraordinarily easy to talk to and also has a nice sense of humor. I was skeptical heading into the weekend but now I am so glad that we did it.