High Conflict Couples Therapy in Philadelphia

We offer therapy for high conflict couples in our Mt. Airy office, supporting partners who feel stuck in cycles of intense conflict, repeated arguments, or disconnection that never gets resolved.

Many couples come to therapy feeling like every conversation turns into a fight or that they’re having the same argument over and over with no clear way forward. Over time, this is exhausting and discouraging especially when both partners care about the relationship but don’t know how to shift what’s happening.

When conflict becomes a pattern

Despite both of you trying your hardest you may notice that conflict moves quickly and feels impossible to stop. One person pursues connection while the other pulls back. Often in highly escalated relationships, the pursuit feels angry and the withdrawal feels punitive. Conversations escalate, shut down, or shift direction before either of you feels understood. These patterns can lead to frustration, defensiveness, and distance. These dynamics as meaningful responses shaped by past experiences, attachment, and ways of protecting oneself in moments of vulnerability.

A different way of working with conflict

In our work, we focus not only on what you’re arguing about, but on how the conflict unfolds between you. We slow things down and pay attention to what is happening in real time- what each of you is experiencing, what gets activated, and what makes it difficult to stay connected. The goal is not to eliminate conflict, but to create new ways of moving through it with more awareness, flexibility, and care.

Supporting both partners

We believe that meaningful change happens when both partners feel seen and supported. Therapy becomes a space where each of you can speak, be heard, and begin to understand yourselves and each other more fully.

This includes making room for strong emotions, moments of rupture, and the possibility of repair- even when things feel tense or stuck.

A note about safety

Couples therapy is not appropriate in situations where there is ongoing violence, coercion, or a lack of safety in the relationship. In those cases, our priority is ensuring that each person has access to appropriate support and resources, which may include specialized services.

We do not offer telehealth services for high-conflict couples. We find that working together in the same physical space allows us to better support both partners, track what is happening in real time, and help create a more contained and workable environment for this kind of work.