Relationship Therapy
Available for Michigan clients (in person or virtual) and Hawaii clients (virtual only)
Your relationship is not defined by its hardest moments. With the right support, new patterns, understanding, and connection can grow from them.
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Your relationship is not defined by its hardest moments. With the right support, new patterns, understanding, and connection can grow from them. 〰️
WHEN THE RELATIONSHIP MATTERS, BUT SOMETHING ISN’T WORKING
You can care deeply about someone and still feel stuck in the way things are going. Conversations start to feel tense or repetitive. You might notice yourself pulling away, overexplaining, or reacting in ways you don’t fully understand.
Sometimes the issue isn’t one specific moment, but a pattern that keeps showing up. The same miscommunication, the same frustration, the same feeling of not being fully understood.
Relationships therapy creates space to slow things down and look at what’s actually happening beneath those moments. Not just what was said or done, but the deeper patterns, expectations, and emotional responses shaping how you relate to others.
WHAT WE FOCUS ON IN RELATIONSHIP THERAPY
At Adaptations Therapy Institute, relationship therapy is grounded in attachment science, trauma awareness, and relational accountability. This means we look at how your past and present experiences shape the way you connect, communicate, and respond in relationships.
Our work together often includes:
Regulating the Nervous System in Relationships
When emotions feel intense, your nervous system can shift into fight, flight, or shutdown. Therapy helps you build awareness and tools to stay more grounded in connection.
Understanding the Relationship Pattern
We identify the patterns that keep showing up in your relationships so you can begin to recognize them in real time and respond differently.
Strengthening Connection and Communication
As you gain clarity and awareness, relationships can begin to feel more mutual, intentional, and aligned with what you actually need.
Rebuilding Emotional Safety
Feeling safe in relationships allows for honesty, vulnerability, and trust. We focus on helping you develop that sense of stability within yourself and with others.
OUR APPROACH
Adaptations Therapy Institute specializes in relational work, so relationship therapy is a central focus of the practice rather than an add-on service. Sessions are guided by attachment-based and trauma-informed approaches that help you understand how your experiences shape the way you show up in relationships.
Our work focuses on helping you recognize patterns, understand your emotional responses, and develop new ways of relating that feel more aligned and sustainable.
Therapy is collaborative and active. Rather than only talking about past experiences, we look at how patterns are showing up in real time so you can begin responding differently in your day-to-day relationships.
Emotional safety is a key part of the process. This means creating a space where you can be honest about your experiences, while also building awareness and accountability for how you engage in relationships.
If you’re noticing patterns in your relationships that no longer feel aligned, therapy can help you understand what’s happening and begin making more intentional changes.
Why Couples Therapy Is Private Pay
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Even when a diagnosis is assigned, a lot of plans explicitly exclude marriage or relationship counseling as "not medically necessary." Practices that bill insurance for couples work are often quietly billing it as individual therapy for one partner, which limits what we can actually address together in the room.
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To bill insurance for couples therapy, one partner has to be labeled with a mental health diagnosis, and the relationship struggle gets filed under their individual treatment. That's not how relationships work. Private pay means we can treat the relationship itself as the client, not one partner's paperwork.
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No diagnosis code, no session notes, nothing about your relationship gets sent to a third party or attached to either of your medical records.
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Relationships don't heal on a schedule set by a claims adjuster. Private pay means the two of you and I decide what pace and duration actually fits what you're working through.
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Couples work often needs flexibility, an extra session before a hard conversation, a longer session after a rupture. A smaller, private-pay caseload is what makes that kind of responsiveness possible.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Starting therapy is a meaningful step. Whether you’re coming in to understand a specific relationship or broader patterns, our work begins with understanding your experiences, not rushing to fix them.
At Adaptations Therapy Institute, therapy is collaborative, thoughtful, and grounded in approaches that support long-term change.
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We begin with a brief consultation to understand what brings you in and determine whether our practice is the right fit for your needs. You are welcome to ask questions and share what feels most important — there is no pressure and no obligation.
From the very first interaction, our goal is for you to feel:
• respected
• understood
• never rushed
• never judgedMany clients tell us they feel a sense of relief even before the first full session begins.
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Your early sessions focus on gaining clarity about your experiences, history, patterns, and goals.
For couples, we look closely at interaction cycles — the moments where partners feel stuck, unheard, or disconnected.
For individuals, we explore the relationship you have with yourself and how it shapes the way you move through the world.
You can expect depth, curiosity, and care — not surface-level advice.
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Our clinicians are trained in attachment-based and trauma-informed models that support emotional safety while encouraging meaningful growth.
Therapy with us is:
• Insight-oriented
• Relational
• Practical
• Compassionate
• Change-focusedWe will move at a pace that is respectful of your nervous system while still helping you move forward.
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Most clients begin with 45-60 minute weekly sessions, as consistency allows therapy to be effective and momentum to build. As progress occurs, session frequency can be adjusted collaboratively.
Sessions are available:
• In person in downtown Ann Arbor
• Virtually across Michigan
• Virtually in Hawaii -
You may already recognize the pattern:
The same dynamic.
The same reaction.
The same outcome that doesn’t feel good.Relationships therapy helps slow these moments down so they can actually be understood — and shifted.
Our approach is active and engaged. We don’t just talk about patterns; we help you recognize them as they happen and begin responding differently.
Many people seek relationships therapy not because something is “wrong,” but because they want their relationships to feel more intentional, stable, and aligned with who they are now.
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Therapy is not about assigning blame or deciding who is right.
It is a space to better understand yourself, strengthen your relationships, and develop new ways of responding when old patterns no longer serve you.
You do not have to arrive with everything figured out — that is what the work is for.
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The relationship between client and therapist matters deeply. If for any reason it does not feel like the right match, we will help guide you toward other trusted resources.
Your care is always the priority.
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Relationships therapy is offered on a private pay basis, which allows sessions to stay focused on your relationship rather than insurance limitations; we also provide superbills that you can submit to your insurance provider for possible out-of-network reimbursement, giving you more flexibility while still accessing specialized care.