Welcome to Integrative Couples Therapy in Encinitas, California online where we specialize in helping couples strengthen communication, connection, and intimacy.

Loving relationships are the foundation of a meaningful life. At Integrative Couples Therapy in Encinitas, California and online, we can help you:

  • Strengthen your bond and preserve the love you share

  • Learn new ways to communicate and navigate conflict

  • Revitalize emotional and sexual intimacy

  • Parent or coparent as a team and create a connected family life

  • Heal and move forward after infidelity or betrayal

  • Bolster commitment, partnership, trust and wellbeing

  • Find clarity and confidence in the direction of your marriage

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Specialities

  • Communication

    We help you slow down and understand what is happening beneath the surface of your conversations. Rather than getting stuck in patterns of unproductive conflict, shutdown, or escalation, we guide you to interact in ways that help you feel heard and understood.

  • Emotional Connection

    We help you build a close and connected bond that becomes a steady foundation for your relationship. Connection creates a buffer for conflict and instills resilience. We help your relationship become more secure with lasting love.

  • Sexual Intimacy

    Sexual intimacy is an important part of many relationships, reflecting both physical closeness and emotional depth. It can be impacted by stress, disconnection, past hurts, or differences in desire. We help you approach sex through a relational lens and with care and openness.

  • Infidelity

    We help you understand what happened, engage in honest conversations, process emotions, grief, and loss, and support the rebuilding of trust. We can help you find your footing and create a path forward with care and intention, on your own or with your partner.

  • Parenting and Family

    Parenting and family are deeply rewarding, and can create stress and conflict within couples. We help you navigate challenging parenting moments, individually and as a team, so you can respond to your child, and partner or co-parent, with confidence and responsiveness.

  • Brink of Divorce

    We facilitate honest communication, helping you develop confidence and clarity about the direction of your marriage, based on a deeper understanding of what has happened in your relationship. We advocate for kindness, mutual respect and dignity.

Our Team

  • Smiling woman with brown hair wearing a light blue blouse with embroidered neckline, standing against a wooden wall outdoors.

    Marissa Massimini

    Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

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  • A woman with brown hair smiling, standing next to a wooden wall outdoors.

    Cara McDowell

    Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

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  • A smiling woman with shoulder-length blonde hair wearing a white collared shirt and pearl earrings, standing next to a wooden wall outdoors.

    Cristina Trette

    Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

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You have options when it comes to therapy. Here is how our approach is different.

We Specialize in Couples, Relationships and Family Dynamics

As licensed marriage and family therapists with specialized training in relationships, attachment, and Emotionally Focused Therapy, helping couples and individuals heal and grow in relationships is the heart of our practice. We are well versed in the common challenges relationships sometimes face, such as challenges with communication, intimacy, and patterns of anxious pursuit and avoidant withdraw. We are also well experienced in bigger difficulties and relationship crisis such as infidelity, escalated conflict, and the real potential of divorce. Whether you come with your partner, or on your own, your relationships remain central and are strengthened through the work we do together.

Integrative Approach

We understand that your relationships are deeply interconnected with your overall mental health and wellbeing. Relationship distress often opens the door to more healing. This may include trauma, parenting, family dynamics, alcohol use, anxiety or depression. When helpful, we coordinate care within our team or connect you with trusted professionals and resources in our community so you receive comprehensive support.

Grounded in Research and Ongoing Training

Our work is rooted in attachment science and Emotionally Focused Therapy, one of the most researched and effective approaches to relationship healing. We continually pursue advanced training and consultation so the care you receive is thoughtful, current, and effective.

Professional and Clinical Maturity

We practice with care, consistency, and ethical responsibility. We bring life experience, clinical depth, and direct guidance to help you understand the patterns that keep you stuck and guide you towards positive, meaningful, and lasting change.

Warm, Personal, and Engaged Care

As a small boutique practice, we are accessible, responsive, and engaged. We are real people, with our own relationships and families, who genuinely care about our clients. We are committed to our own relational and personal growth, and bring that same dedication to the work we do with you.

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Cristina Trette, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

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Most conflict lives beneath the words being said. When we slow down and get curious about what is underneath, the conversation can shift from reactive to connecting. Try asking: “What’s coming up for you underneath this?” #communi
The health of a relationship is often found in the smallest interactions. Bids for connection happen every day, & how we respond to them matters more than we think. Over time, these moments either strengthen the relationship or create quiet disc
Sometimes relationships don’t fall apart, they just feel harder to reach. More distant. More quiet. More heavy than you want them to be. We believe connection is still possible. At Integrative Couples Therapy, we support couples & individ
Small moments matter more than we think. Showing up for your partner does not have to be big or elaborate. Often it is the quiet consistent gestures that build the most connection. Try one of these today and notice what shifts between you. #connecti
Sexual intimacy is deeply connected to emotional safety, trust, & connection. When things feel off, it’s often not just about sex. Stress, disconnection, life transitions, or past experiences can all impact how safe, open, or present we fe
The difference isn’t just in the words. It’s in the willingness to take ownership and truly understand your partner’s experience. That’s what turns conflict into connection. #therapy #couplestherapy #marriage #relationship #a
Escalation in conflict is often a signal, not the problem. When emotions rise, it’s usually because something meaningful is at stake feeling heard, valued, or emotionally safe. But the ways we try to get those needs met can sometimes push our p
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In therapy, we help couples make room for complexity, slow down reactivity, & learn how to hold both their own experience & their partner’s with more curiosity & care. #therapy #couplestherapy #relationship #marriage