Christine Hodges, Director, Licensed Resident in Marriage and Family Therapy,
Hi there! I’m Christine and I am happy you are here learning a bit more about our practice and the dedication we have to our clients and the services we provide. I am a Licensed Resident in Marriage and Family Therapy and am under the direct supervision of our clinical director, Holly Tracy, while I accrue hours towards full, independent licensure. My educational background has been centered around systems work, which recognizes that we are part of a system with the people, relationships, and communities around us and that those systems impact and influence us through a variety of ways. Part of my educational background has also involved training in trauma counseling and, because I understand the impact trauma can have on relationships, I interweave trauma-informed care in my work with individuals and relationships.
Along the way, I have discovered that my passion is to help relationships find the understanding, closeness, and happiness partners in those relationships are looking for. As a partner in a relationship myself, I can recognize the need for respect, trust, solid communication skills, and even humor, laughter, and play, in creating and maintaining the relationships we are all yearning for. A commitment I make to the partners I see is meeting you where you are at in your relationship, and that involves listening to the goals you have for your relationship, understanding the cycles and patterns that play themselves out, and creating a tailored set of skills you can take out of the therapeutic space into your relationship.
A combination of my love for learning, my commitment to meeting partners where they are at, and my drive to provide an inclusive, affirming space for all relationships have led me to pursue a variety of trainings that speak to both the foundational and unique components of relationships and the diversity that exists in us humans. I utilize an attachment-based, relational lens, drawing upon evidence-based methods from the Gottman Method Couples Therapy and Emotionally Focused Therapy in my work with relationships.
I offer therapy through a virtual space to increase the accessibility and flexibility telehealth therapy provides to individuals and partners. Our office has found it to be a vital tool in creating space for all relationships no matter where they might be located in the state of Virginia! I also get the hesitation partners can feel with pursuing relationship counseling virtually. During our first session together we spend some time talking about those hesitations and I take a direct, collaborative approach with partners in creating a space where their relationship can be explored through a safe and curious lens. We also address some of the common concerns partners can have in pursuing relationship counseling virtually on the next page.
Holly Tracy, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Margaret Waldron, Licensed Resident in Marriage and Family Therapy
Angelique Payne, Licensed Resident in Professional Counseling
Keundra Miller, Marriage and Family Intern
We welcome couples of all ages, races, ethnicities, religions, sexual, and gender orientations.
What is couples counseling?
Couples counseling is a form of psychotherapy for intimate partners that allows partners to strengthen, rebuild, and deepen their relationship. Couples counseling has the unique ability to address a wide range of relationship issues, giving partners the opportunity to learn healthy communicate skills, decrease feelings of disconnection, increase the intimacy within the relationship, and nourish the bond that exists between them. Some common themes that we can explored in couples counseling include:
- Conflicts
- Trauma
- Sexuality
- Substance use/misuse
- Family of origin
- Forgiveness
- Chronic pain
- Chronic health
- Bereavement
- Friendship
- Infidelity repair
- Enrichment
- Enhancement
- Premarital work
- A quick (2-4 session) tune-up/check-in
What does couples counseling look like?
Our clinicians firmly believe in the importance of attachment and hold to an attachment-based, relational lens in the work they do with partners. In addition to focusing on the emotional closeness and connectedness between and among partners, our clinicians have training in evidence-based models and draw upon techniques from:
- Family Systems
- The Gottman Method Couples Therapy
- Emotionally Focused Therapy
- Prepare/Enrich
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Sandtray Therapy
- Communication Skills Training
- Insight-Oriented
- Role Play/Role Rehearsal
- Creative Interventions
How long does couples counseling last?
Because every relationship is unique, we do not believe couples counseling can be limited to a specific number of sessions. We provide space for partners to create goals, process through hurts, deepen emotional bonds, and foster healthy connections. We meet partners where they are and support each journey without judgment or imposing our beliefs upon partners.
Do my partner and I meet individually with the clinician?
It is our practice to meet with both partners together upon starting couples counseling, and we encourage couples to attend sessions together. There might be times when only a smaller part of the unit is present for sessions. If that is the case, our clinicians still meet with that smaller unit; however, our clinicians operate under a “No Secrets” policy which means there is no promise to keep secrets from one partner and ways to share important information with each other are explored and rehearsed.
Is couples counseling covered by insurance?
We do not bill insurance for couples counseling. Insurance requires adherence to specific rules in order for counseling to be covered. One such rule is that only one individual can be the “identified client” and that individual must also meet medical necessity, using standards set by the insurance company.
Medical necessity requires the presence of clear evidence of symptoms with at least one valid DSM-5TR diagnosis, and a treatment plan that addresses the signs and symptoms of that medical diagnosis for the “identified client.” All treatment must be focused on that one individual and the other partner is considered a collateral contact, which impacts privilege and confidentiality. As the record is kept in one name, the “identified client,” only that one party has access to the record, rights to that record and can release the record at their will.
When one person is the “identified client” that person carries the dysfunction for the whole system, which is counterproductive and harmful to healing and enhancing the couple relationship.
We provide services that aren’t based on medical necessity and pathologizing one partner by giving a diagnosis which must be the focus of treatment. We believe the the relationship is the client in couples counseling. And that doesn’t meet the definition of medical necessity. This means you both will be the identified client and both have full access to the one treatment record, which requires consent from both parties for any release of information. This protects both partners. Documentation will be written with the relationship in mind, goals will be set related to the relationship and notes will focus on the functioning of the system. From the start, it is important to correctly identify who is and who isn’t the client. This will impact treatment, confidentiality, privilege, records, billing, and who is owed duty of care and duty of confidentiality.
I don’t think I can afford couples counseling.
We absolutely understand the financial implications of counseling which is why we keep our rates well below the average for our area and expertise. We also support and encourage looking for services through Employee Assistance Programs through work, Military One Source and Fleet and Family Support Centers.
While we find weekly sessions the ideal way to start, we encourage setting a schedule that fits with your needs and goals, taking into consideration costs of time and money.
The following link will take you to VAMFT – Virginia’s association for MFTs.