HIGH CONFLICT COUPLES · CALIFORNIA
When everything else has failed to fix your marriage, this is where couples come.
Helping high-conflict couples rebuild trust, restore intimacy, and create lasting change.
HIGH CONFLICT COUPLES · CALIFORNIA
When everything else has failed to fix your marriage, this is where couples come.
Helping high-conflict couples rebuild trust, restore intimacy, and create lasting change.
GOTTMAN LEVEL III
LMFT #51009
20+ YEARS PRIVATE PRACTICE
FORTUNE 500 BACKGROUND
HIPAA TELEHEALTH · CA-WIDE
What high conflict couples counseling & therapy is about
Stop managing your marriage. Start changing it.
- Stop repeating the same arguments
- Rebuild trust after betrayal
- Improve emotional and physical intimacy
- Communicate without escalating conflict
- Create a stronger partnership for the future
“We were days from filing for divorce. Two years later, everything looks different.”
“Eight years of the same arguments with other therapists. Marina was direct in a way that finally made things move.”
SPECIALTIES
What I Do Best
Personalized therapy to help you heal, strengthen relationships, and improve your emotional well-being.
01
Couples & Marriage Therapy
- Evidence-based work for couples at any stage — from chronic conflict to disconnection to the brink of separation.
Learn more →
02
Affair Recovery & Infidelity Therapy
- Structured recovery from betrayal. Whether you’re deciding to stay or leave, the process is supported and clear.
Learn more →
03
Emotional and Physical Intimacy
- Rebuilding closeness and connection when distance has settled in — emotionally, mentally, physically, or both.
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FOR HIGH-CONFLICT COUPLES
Built for couples where every conversation becomes a fight—or ends in silence.
When conflict becomes the dominant pattern, even simple conversations can feel tense, exhausting, or impossible. Small disagreements may quickly escalate into criticism, defensiveness, anger, withdrawal, or long periods of silence, leaving both partners feeling misunderstood and disconnected.
Marina helps couples slow this cycle, identify the emotions and unmet needs driving it, and understand how each partner’s reactions affect the other. Rather than deciding who is right or wrong, therapy focuses on reducing blame, creating safer communication, and developing practical ways to manage disagreements. Over time, couples can begin repairing trust, resolving conflict more effectively, and building a more stable and connected relationship.
What sets this work apart
Identifies the patterns beneath the argument — not only the issue being argued about
Structured sessions that keep conflict from taking over the room
Direct guidance for de-escalation, boundaries, and more productive communication
A balanced approach that holds both partners accountable without creating a “villain”
Confidential telehealth throughout California—no waiting rooms
SERVICES
How I Do It
The steps I take to make sure that you are getting the support you need.
01
Interrupt the Conflict Cycle
- I help you recognize the triggers, reactions, and emotional patterns that turn small disagreements into criticism, defensiveness, anger, withdrawal, or shutdown.
- Together, we interrupt escalation before it takes over and create clear boundaries for conversations that become overwhelming or harmful.
02
Understand What Drives the Conflict
- We look beneath the immediate argument to identify unresolved hurt, unmet needs, power struggles, trust injuries, and fears that keep the same conflict returning.
- The focus is not on deciding who is right or wrong, but on helping each partner understand their role in the cycle and take responsibility for changing it.
03
Build Safer & Consistent Repair
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- I teach practical tools for expressing concerns clearly, listening without immediately reacting, regulating intense emotions, and addressing difficult issues more productively.
- Together, we strengthen your ability to repair after conflict, rebuild emotional safety, and create lasting agreements that reduce resentment and prevent repeated escalation.
ABOUT ME
Marina Edelman, LMFT
Couples Therapist in California
Marina Edelman is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the founder of TrueMe® Counseling, a couples and relationship therapy practice serving clients in Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, and throughout California.
Marina specializes in couples therapy, affair recovery, and relationship repair, drawing on a carefully integrated set of evidence-based approaches:
- Gottman Method — Research-based tools for reducing conflict and building friendship and intimacy
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) — Healing attachment injuries and rebuilding emotional safety
- Attachment-Based Therapy — Understanding how early relational patterns shape adult love
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — Identifying and shifting the thought patterns that fuel disconnection
- AEDP — Processing deep emotional wounds with compassion and precision
Her counseling is best suited for couples and individuals seeking structured, research-backed support for relationship repair, affair recovery, anxiety, communication challenges, and premarital or marriage counseling — in person or via telehealth across California.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
About High Conflict Couples
Here are some of the most frequent questions we receive about this page.
Is our relationship too far gone for couples counseling?
Many couples come to therapy after years of recurring conflict, convinced that nothing will change. While I can’t make promises about outcomes, what I can say is that even long-standing patterns can shift when both
partners are willing to engage. The first step is understanding what’s driving the cycle-not deciding whether the relationship can be saved.
What if we just end up arguing during sessions?
That’s okay, and often expected. In fact, watching how you argue helps me understand the dynamic in real time, so I can help you slow it down, identify what’s happening underneath, and practice new ways of responding while you’re in the moment.
Is high-conflict the same as an abusive relationship?
No. High-conflict relationships involve mutual escalation and reactive patterns, while abusive relationships involve a pattern of power, control, or fear. If you’re unsure where your relationship falls, that’s something we can explore together, and I’ll always prioritize your safety in determining whether couples work is appropriate.
How long does counseling for high-conflict couples typically take?
Some couples notice meaningful change within 12 to 20 weeks of consistent weekly sessions, while others benefit from longer-term support spanning 6 to 12 months or more, depending on the depth of the patterns and the complexity of the issues involved. If you want a fast-paced result, I recommend trying my Intensive Couples Therapy.
Can therapy help if only one of us thinks we have a problem?
Couples therapy works best when both partners are willing to participate, but it’s common for one partner to be more hesitant. I work to create a space where both perspectives feel heard, which often shifts the willingness of a reluctant partner over time.
Take the first step toward healing and connection
Not sure where to start? Let’s talk.