Ian Whitmarsh, MA, PhD
Ian Whitmarsh Psychotherapy
Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #150580
Center for Mindful Psychotherapy
Supervised by Chelsea Owens LMFT #100077

Approach
Approach
Relationship Therapy
Relationships can go through periods where each person feels alone in their hurt and needs. When we find ourselves repeating the same fights, we can feel hopeless. Therapy can offer a way forward. The moments that we are feeling in pain or anxious are precisely when we are most needing to be seen. I will explore with you how to hear each other so that you feel understood and less alone.
My approach is rooted in IFS relationship therapy (called Intimacy from the Inside Out). I also draw on Gestalt and Nonviolent Communication. Our work together will provide ways to communicate so that you hear what is alive in each other as a gift. You both will find ways to express your needs without the other hearing a demand. You will find ways to express your boundaries without the other hearing a judgment. I will facilitate you getting in touch with your inner capacity to hear what is alive in each other.
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I began focusing on couple’s work as I learned how powerful non-pathologizing therapy could be for relationships. Since then, I have helped couples find and hear each other across a range of difficult experiences, including discordant attachment styles, infidelity, parenting and co-parenting hardships, substance use, anger issues, and overwhelming stress. I have experience working with different relationship forms, including monogamy, ethical nonmogamy, and polyamory, and I have helped couples as they move from one kind to another. Any relationship can get stuck in patterns. Therapy offers a means to move out of these patterns and feel a sense of connection.