Maria helped us tackle some very sensitive issues together and deeply strengthen our relationship. We had some ongoing disagreements after being together for a year and we were unsure how to move forward. Maria helped us learn more about each other and our histories so we could have a greater understanding of why we were behaving in certain ways and the effect it had on our relationship. By gaining a deeper understanding of our partner's feelings, we were more able to make the changes we needed to support the relationship. We also learned to talk openly about everything. The weekly sessions kept us accountable to put in action the change we talked about in sessions. Maria also helped us stop using other relationships and cultural norms to dictate our own relationship, which helped us stop pressuring ourselves to advance our relationship faster than we were ready for.
She had great empathy for the unique struggles facing gay relationships and encouraged us to continue our personal work while allowing our partner's story to unfold without trying to shape it too much. Overall, we found therapy very helpful for ourselves and for our relationship, and we came away much stronger than before.