Relationships & Dating Therapy
Casen Psychology | Dr. Sara Casen, PhD.
When connection feels harder than it should
You're thoughtful, self-aware, and genuinely want a relationship that feels good. Something keeps getting in the way anyway.
Maybe you keep ending up with people who aren't right for you. Maybe you're in the same argument with your partner for the hundredth time and nothing ever actually resolves. Maybe the people closest to you leave you feeling drained in ways you can't quite explain.
Whatever the pattern, you've started to wonder if the problem is you. It isn't. But understanding what's happening beneath the surface is where the work begins.
What you might be carrying
You get anxious when someone pulls away. You overanalyze texts, brace for rejection, or work hard to keep people close in ways that exhaust you.
Or the opposite: closeness feels threatening. When things get serious, you pull back without fully understanding why.
You know how you want to communicate, but in the moment it doesn't come out that way. Conversations escalate, you shut down, or you say what the other person wants to hear. Nothing changes.
Dating feels like an endless loop. You meet someone, things seem promising, then something shifts. You're not sure if you're choosing the wrong people, pushing them away, or both.
With family, you're still playing a role you didn't choose. Setting limits feels impossible. You leave interactions feeling like a smaller version of yourself.
What starts to shift
When you understand your attachment patterns, the choices you've been making start to make sense. That clarity isn't just intellectual. It changes how you show up in real conversations with real people.
Over time you build a different set of defaults:
Conflicts become something you can move through, not just survive.
You get better at identifying what you actually need and saying it in a way that lands.
Relationships start to feel less like something happening to you and more like something you're actively shaping.
That doesn't mean every relationship becomes easy. It means you stop being blindsided by the same patterns, and you have real tools when things get hard.
How I work with you
Attachment-based therapy sits at the center of this work. My training in psychodynamic psychotherapy gives us a way to look at where your relational patterns came from, not to assign blame, but to understand what you learned about connection early on and how it's showing up now.
CBT gives us practical tools to work with the thoughts and behaviors keeping those patterns in place.
Sessions are goal-directed. We track what's happening in your relationships in real time and work on it directly. I give homework, small experiments and reflection exercises, so the work continues between sessions.
What to expect
In our first session, I'll ask you to walk me through a highlight reel of your life. The relationships, experiences, and patterns you think are important for me to know. That conversation shapes our treatment plan together.
We'll talk about what you want to be different in three months, six months, and a year.
Sessions are weekly for most clients
Twice weekly is available when things are more acute
Every-other-week is reserved for the final, wrap-up phase of work only
Who this is a good fit for
This work is well suited for individuals in their 20s and 30s who are:
Navigating dating that keeps stalling or going sideways
In a relationship that feels stuck
Working through long-standing dynamics with family
You don't need to arrive with everything figured out. It helps to come with some willingness to look honestly at your own patterns, not just the other people in your life.
If you've been to therapy before and felt like it didn't go anywhere, that's worth talking about in a first session. Many people arrive here having already tried other approaches.
Fees
My rate is $300 per session. A sliding scale is available for clients with financial need. Reach out and we can talk through what's workable.
Questions people ask before booking
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That's a fair question. A lot depends on fit: the right approach, the right clinician, the right timing. If previous therapy felt generic or surface-level, a more structured, goal-directed approach with specific homework and clear milestones tends to feel different. It's worth a conversation before you decide.
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No. Some of the most useful relationship work happens when you're single or between relationships. Understanding your patterns before the next one is often the most efficient use of the work.
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It depends on what you're working on and how much has accumulated. Some clients see real shifts in a few months. Others work with me for a year or more, especially when patterns go back a long way. We revisit your goals regularly so you always know where you are in the process.
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No. I work with individuals only. The work here focuses on your patterns, your responses, and your capacity to connect, not on mediating between you and a partner.
Taking this step is worth something, even if you're not sure yet
If any of this resonated, a consultation call is a low-pressure way to find out if we're a good fit. Schedule a free consultation.