Blethen Donna, MFT

My husband and I hosted and attended a workshop at Ocean Yoga called Conscious Couples and learned a great deal in just one 2 hour class. It was a very simple and yet eye opening exploration of how our early childhood attachments to our parents play out and affects our relationship to each other, the other being the one we chose to trust and love in sacred partnership. We learned how to listen and how to express what we need so that we don’t go to those patterns of self defeat and hurt towards our partner. I was really impressed at how simple and thorough Donna can explain a lot of cutting edge relationship research, stuff we all wish our parents had. I noticed a shift immediately after the class as we sat down to dinner that night and discussed how we can nurture each other more, be more aware of our patterns, and listen to what each other needs. Even if you are wary of trying couples counseling, try this workshop and you will learn something about yourself and your partner. The rest is up to you. Put it into practice. I’m sure even more results could come from seeing Donna regularly, as I’m sure she could offer more in-​depth reflection and tools as she gets to know your relationship concerns. I am really grateful to have had this opportunity to attend.

Some people may think relationship counselors are only for married people and decide not to seek help when there are problems. I believe before jumping into marriage, relationship counseling can really help with exploring certain areas that we may not even know exist.
In every relationship, you go through 3 stages. The Honeymoon, The Raw Deal and The Real Deal. Most couples get stuck in the raw deal stage where conflicts occur and dont know where to go from there to get to the real deal (ie. marriage). Like most relationships, my significant other and I get into fights from time to time, but when fights doesnt get resolved and feelings gets hurt, that’s when we decided to seek a relationship therapist for help with our communication… or lack of. I search the web on Psychology Today for over 300 therapist in SF area and Donna’s profile stood out to me the most:
So we made an appointment to go see Donna, she was very nice, personable and understanding. Relationship counseling is not about picking sides or telling one person who is wrong or right, its about digging deep into the problem of things in order to solve it. Overall we had a very good session, we were able to talk about our feelings, wants and needs and what is important to us. Donna was very engaged, nonjudgmental and she also has a good sense of humor. So it wasn’t all tense! We actually enjoyed our session! Donna’s goal is to helped us understand each other but most importantly ourselves. Of course this will not be an overnight thing but from one session, I felt less resentful and a little more loving. I think when two people are together for a long time, they tend to forget what was that spark that got them together in the beginning.