Marriage, Couples & Sexuality
Every Relationship Has a Language. We Help You Understand Yours.
Every couple develops its own patterns over time — ways of connecting, ways of fighting, ways of pulling back. When those patterns stop working, or when unspoken wounds begin to erode what was once close, it can feel like you're losing not just the relationship but yourself.
Couples therapy at Sanctuary is not about deciding who is right. It's about understanding what's happening between you — and building something more honest, more connected, and more sustainable.
Who Comes to Couples Therapy?
You don't have to be in crisis to benefit from couples work. People come to us for many reasons, including:
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Recurring conflict that never fully resolves
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Emotional distance and disconnection
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Rebuilding trust after infidelity or betrayal
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Navigating a major life transition together — a move, a new child, a loss, a career change
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Communication patterns that leave both partners feeling unheard
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Premarital counseling and preparation for marriage
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Intimacy concerns — emotional, physical, or both
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Differing values, parenting styles, or life goals
Sexuality & Sexual Health
Sexuality is a core dimension of human wholeness — and one of the most under-addressed areas in traditional therapy settings. Sexual concerns are not secondary issues. They are often at the center of a person's sense of self, connection, and worth.
We address:
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Desire discrepancy and intimacy disconnection
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Sexual shame and the impact of religious or cultural messaging
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The effects of trauma on sexual health and intimacy
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Concerns related to sexual function and satisfaction
This work is approached within a trauma-informed, shame-free framework that fully respects your values, your history, and your autonomy.
How We Work With You
Sessions are structured to give each partner space to be genuinely heard — not just to present their case, but to be understood. Our clinician helps partners identify the negative cycles that keep you stuck, access the underlying needs those cycles are protecting, and begin to build new patterns of communication and connection rooted in safety and trust.
Individual sessions may also be incorporated alongside couples work when personal history, trauma, or individual goals call for it.
