Therapy for Relationship Issues in Los Angeles
Feel more like yourself in your closest relationships.
Individual therapy for adults navigating strain with a partner, in-laws, parents, or friends, especially through the big changes of becoming a family.
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In Hermosa Beach, Culver City & West Los Angeles
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Online across California
• In Hermosa Beach, Culver City & West Los Angeles • Online across California
When the People Closest to You Feel Hardest to Reach
Maybe it's the same argument with your partner, on a loop. Maybe it's a mother-in-law who has opinions about everything, a sibling you can't talk to without bracing, or a friendship that slowly faded after the baby came. You might be the one who always smooths things over, or the one who goes silent and hopes it passes. Either way, you're tired of feeling this way with people you love.
At Mother Nurture Therapy Group, we work with the person in the room. You don't need your partner, your parents, or anyone else to come in for things to start changing. Individual therapy gives you a place to understand your own patterns, figure out what you need, and practice new ways of showing up, so the relationships that matter to you can start to feel different.
Relationship issues look different for everyone.
You might notice
Having the same fight over and over without getting anywhere
Shutting down, or chasing reassurance, when things get tense
Feeling more like roommates than partners
Resentment about the mental load or who does what
Dreading time with in-laws or your own family
Saying yes when you want to say no
Friendships that changed or drifted after a big life change
Wondering whether this relationship is still right for you
Relationships can carry old patterns and new pressures at the same time. With support, you can sort out which is which and choose what comes next.
how we can help
We offer steady, practical support for the relationships in your life.
We start with what's happening now: the conflict that keeps repeating, the conversation you've been avoiding, the decision that's weighing on you. In early sessions, we map out the pattern together, including what sets it off, what you tend to do next, and what it costs you.
From there, we look at where those patterns started. Using attachment-based and psychodynamic therapy, we connect how you learned to handle closeness and conflict growing up to how you respond today. That understanding makes it easier to stop reacting on autopilot and start choosing your response.
Alongside that work, you'll build practical skills drawn from Gottman Method and emotionally focused approaches: raising concerns without blame, setting boundaries you can hold, and repairing after hard moments. If your partner wants to join at some point, we can add couples sessions or refer you to one of our couples therapists.
Therapy for relationship issues can help you
Break out of the same old fight
Say what you need without blowing up or shutting down
Set boundaries with family that you can actually keep
Feel less alone in your relationship
Understand how your past shows up in your relationships
Rebuild trust, or get clear on whether you can
Handle in-law and family tension as a team
Make a decision about your relationship that feels like your own
Areas We Support
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Relationship Strain After Baby
Less sleep, less time, and a whole new set of roles that can leave you feeling disconnected or keeping score
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When Your Partner Won't Come to Therapy
Making changes on your side of the relationship when your partner isn't ready to join
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Conflict & Communication Patterns
Pursue and withdraw cycles, criticism and defensiveness, and a partner who shuts down when you need them most
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In-Laws & Extended Family
Unsolicited advice, holiday pressure, cultural expectations, and feeling caught between your partner and their family
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Your Relationship With Your Own Parents
Old hurts that resurface when you become a parent yourself, and deciding what closeness looks like now
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Friendship Changes in New Parenthood
Friends who don't get it, friends who drifted, and the loneliness of being the first or last in your group to have kids
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Trust, Betrayal & Deciding What's Next
Infidelity, broken promises, or slow erosion, and sorting out whether and how to rebuild
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Relationships Through Infertility or Loss
When fertility treatment or pregnancy loss changes how you and your partner talk, grieve, and connect
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Separation & Co-Parenting
Making sense of a relationship ending and finding steadier footing as a co-parent
Who You’ll See
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Yael Sherne
Founder & Clinical Director,
Licensed Marriage & Family TherapistGottman Method trained and EFT informed
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Sarah Bederman
Associate Marriage & Family Therapist
Gottman Method and EFT informed
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Brooke Friedberg
Associate Marriage & Family Therapist, Associate Professional Clinical Counselor
Gottman Method and EFT informed
GETTING STARTED
Schedule a free call
Share what’s going on and your goals for therapy. Our Care Coordinator will thoughtfully match you with the right therapist, schedule your first session, and set up your secure client portal.
Begin care
In your first session, you’ll share your story, why you’re here, and what you hope will feel different. Together, we’ll start building a path forward.
Heal at the roots
You’ll get practical tools to use right away while we begin connecting the dots from your past to integrate lasting change. Steadiness, connection, and trust in yourself start becoming your new normal.
Prefer in-person or online?
We offer therapy for relationship issues in person in Hermosa Beach, Culver City, and West Los Angeles, and via telehealth throughout California.
FAQs
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Yes. Many people start on their own, whether their partner isn't ready, the strain is with someone else entirely, or they simply want space to think. Individual therapy helps you understand your patterns, respond differently, and get clearer on what you want. When one person changes how they show up, the relationship often shifts too.
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In individual therapy, the focus is you: your reactions, your history, your needs, and your choices within the relationship. In couples therapy, both partners attend and the relationship itself is the client. Some people start individually and add couples sessions later. We can help you decide which fits best.
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Yes. You can't control whether your partner participates, but you can change your side of the pattern: how you raise concerns, how you respond in conflict, and what you're willing to keep accepting. Those changes often open new possibilities, and sometimes a partner becomes more open to joining later.
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Yes. Therapy won't make the decision for you, but it can give you a place to sort through what you're feeling without pressure from either direction. We look at what's working, what isn't, and what you need, so whatever you decide feels like your choice and not a reaction.
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Family tension often spikes around weddings, pregnancy, and a new baby, when roles and expectations shift. Therapy helps you understand what's being stirred up, set boundaries you can actually hold, and talk with your partner so you feel like a team instead of caught in the middle.
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Most of us learned how to handle closeness and conflict long before we chose our partners. Those early patterns can show up as shutting down, chasing reassurance, people-pleasing, or picking the same fight again and again. Therapy helps you see where they came from and practice new ways of responding.
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Your safety comes first. If you're being threatened, controlled, or hurt, call 911 in an emergency, or reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233 or by texting START to 88788. A therapist can also help you think through safety planning at your own pace.
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Mother Nurture Therapy Group offers individual therapy for relationship issues at our offices in Hermosa Beach, Culver City, and West LA, and by telehealth anywhere in California. Our therapists have training in Gottman Method and emotionally focused approaches, with a special focus on relationships during pregnancy, new parenthood, and fertility challenges.
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Yes. Video sessions are available anywhere in California, which can make it easier to fit therapy into a full schedule or to talk openly from a private space.
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Individual sessions range from $180 to $250 and couples sessions from $200 to $300, depending on the therapist. We're a private-pay practice and provide superbills you can submit to your insurance for possible out-of-network reimbursement.
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Book a free 15-minute consultation. Our Care Coordinator will talk through what you're looking for, match you with the right therapist and office, and schedule your first session.
