Individual and Couples Relationship Therapy
A conversation with a partner or someone you're dating can leave you thinking about it long after it's over. Something didn't sit right, but explaining why feels difficult. You wonder whether it was worth bringing up, whether the reaction was fair, or why the same kind of situation keeps happening.
Over time, it can get harder to trust your own read on a relationship. Speaking up feels uncomfortable, boundaries get pushed aside, or the line between a normal disagreement and a bigger concern starts to feel blurry.
Katherine works with individuals who want to understand their relationship experiences, build self-esteem, and recognize what healthy relationships look like. She also works with couples who struggle to talk through problems and want to communicate more clearly when disagreements arise.
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When You Start Second-Guessing Your Relationships
A comment stays with you for the rest of the day. A disagreement leaves you wondering whether you were too sensitive. Saying no to a request brings on guilt, even when you had a good reason to decline. Instead of thinking about what bothered you, the focus shifts to whether you had a right to feel that way.
After enough of these experiences, speaking up can feel harder than letting something go. You might find yourself explaining away someone's behavior, apologizing for bringing up a concern, or accepting things in a relationship that you wouldn't want for a friend.
Individual therapy with Katherine can help you make sense of these situations and understand how they affect the way you see yourself. Together, you can look at what makes certain interactions difficult, how self-esteem influences your decisions, and what you want to be different in your relationships.
When Conversations With Your Partner Go Nowhere
One person brings up a concern, and the other hears criticism. The conversation turns into a debate about who said what, an old disagreement gets pulled back into the mix, or one person shuts down while the other keeps trying to get a response. The original issue gets lost, and the same problem comes up again a few days later.
Couples can get stuck in these exchanges even when both partners want things to improve. One person might focus on finding a solution while the other wants to feel heard first. When each person is focused on getting their point across, it becomes harder to understand what the other is trying to say.
Katherine helps couples practice ways to raise concerns, listen without immediately becoming defensive, and explain what they need from each other. Sessions can focus on real disagreements and the communication skills that help both partners take part in the conversation.
What Therapy With Katherine Can Actually Look Like
Katherine draws on trauma-informed care, attachment-based work, and cognitive behavioral strategies. The focus of sessions depends on whether someone is attending individually or with a partner.
Individual sessions might begin with a recent dating experience, a disagreement that brought up old insecurities, or a boundary that's been difficult to set. Katherine helps clients examine what happened, how they responded, and what made the situation difficult. This can include looking at beliefs about self-worth and how earlier relationships influence expectations of other people.
With couples, sessions focus on how partners talk through concerns and handle differences. You might revisit a disagreement to identify what each person wanted the other to understand, what made listening difficult, and how the conversation could have gone differently. Katherine helps couples practice expressing themselves clearly and responding to each other in ways that make room for an actual discussion.
Why Work With Katherine?
Katherine Shelton is a Mental Health Counselor with a Limited Permit in New York. She earned her master's degree in Mental Health Counseling and her bachelor's degree from New York University.
Her work centers on relationship concerns, self-esteem, boundaries, and communication. She brings a trauma-informed and attachment-based perspective to individual therapy, with attention to how earlier experiences can shape current relationships. In couples sessions, she focuses on communication skills and the ways partners respond when concerns or disagreements arise.
Katherine offers virtual therapy to clients located throughout New York.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I go to therapy for relationship problems if my partner doesn't want to come?
Yes. Individual therapy gives you space to explore relationship experiences, understand recurring concerns, and work on issues such as self-esteem, boundaries, and trusting your own judgment. Your partner doesn't need to attend for you to focus on your own experiences and choices.
How can I tell if a relationship is healthy or unhealthy?
Disagreements are part of relationships. It's also important to consider whether both people feel respected, can express their needs, and can raise concerns without being intimidated or dismissed. Therapy can help you make sense of confusing relationship experiences and clarify what you want and expect from a partner.
Can therapy help with low self-esteem in relationships?
Yes. Therapy can help you explore how self-esteem affects the way you approach relationships, respond to conflict, and communicate your needs. Sessions can also address the difficulty of setting boundaries or trusting your own perspective when someone disagrees with you.
Can couples therapy help us communicate better?
Katherine works with couples who want to discuss difficult subjects without repeatedly getting caught in arguments. Sessions focus on expressing concerns, listening to each other, and understanding the communication habits that contribute to recurring disagreements.
Does Katherine offer online therapy in New York?
Yes. Katherine offers virtual therapy to clients located throughout New York. Cardinal Hope provides a free 15-minute consultation with Laura, the practice administrator, so you can ask questions and discuss whether Katherine may be a good fit.
Let's Talk About Getting Started
Relationship concerns can affect confidence, decision-making, and the way partners communicate. Katherine works with individuals who want to better understand their relationship experiences and couples who want to improve how they handle disagreements.
Cardinal Hope Mental Health Counseling Services offers a free 15-minute consultation with Laura, the practice administrator. It's an opportunity to discuss what you're looking for, ask questions, and explore whether working with Katherine feels like the right fit.