Aviva Psychology Services
Relationship and family counseling in Massachusetts
Helping individuals and families who feel disconnected, stuck, or overwhelmed in their relationships find clearer communication, healthier boundaries, and stronger connection.
Do you feel like you’re speaking but not being heard?
Sometimes the tension builds slowly. Other times, it hits all at once. Conversations turn into arguments, silence becomes more common than laughter, and it feels like you’re always walking on eggshells. Maybe it’s with your partner, your parents, your child, or all of the above. You’re exhausted from trying to keep things together, and it’s starting to wear you down.
Relationship and family struggles show up in painful ways:
- Feeling lonely even when you're in the same room
- Avoiding important conversations to “keep the peace”
- Constant guilt, blame, or confusion
- Worry that it’s always going to be like this
Relationship and family counseling in Boston and Northampton, MA can help you slow down, get to the heart of what’s causing tension, and rebuild with honesty, skillful communication and care. At Aviva, we create a safe pace to explore and understand each person's history, strengths and stuckpoints while building more effective communication and conflict resolution skills.
What is relationship and family counseling?
Relationship and family counseling is a structured way to explore patterns, conflicts, and pain points in your closest relationships. It’s not about pointing fingers. It’s about understanding how everyone’s needs, histories, and emotions are showing up, and learning how to respond with clarity instead of reactivity.
Many families and couples seek support during life transitions, unresolved conflicts, or after years of silence and resentment. Therapy provides a place to pause, look beneath the surface, and begin talking in ways that help rather than hurt.
This work may be right for you if:
- You feel like you’re always stuck in the same arguments
- You want to feel closer to your partner or family but don’t know how
- You’ve experienced betrayal, loss, or a major shift in family dynamics
- Boundaries feel unclear, or roles feel imbalanced
- You want to learn healthier ways to communicate and connect
Why choose aviva psychology services?
At Aviva, we bring decades of clinical training and a deep respect for the complexity of human relationships. Our team includes psychologists with advanced experience in relational dynamics, communication challenges, family systems, and identity-affirming care.
We know that relationships carry both our deepest wounds and the greatest potential for repair. Our approach is honest, collaborative, and grounded in evidence-based methods. Whether we’re working with a couple, adult family members, or an individual navigating difficult relationships, we focus on building healthy relational skills, personal empowerment, and values aligned behavior.
Our relationship and family counseling process
It takes courage and hard work to improve our relationships. Here’s how we begin:
Request an Appointment
Once you complete the form, we will reach out. If we have a fitting opening, we schedule a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation to assess fit further together.
Assessment and Planning
The first 2–4 sessions assess your concerns, history, and goals. You and your therapist will discuss fit and establish a treatment plan together.
Ongoing Weekly Sessions
Sessions are held at the same time each week and typically last 75 - 90 minutes to work towards meeting your treatment goals.
Picture what it’s like to feel supported again
Imagine being able to feel connection rather than tension, to share something hard and feel understood rather than dismissed or blamed. Imagine fewer blow - ups, more intimate moments, and the return of fun.
Picture feeling confident and clear in your relationships and in your ability to communicate your needs clearly while understanding other's needs and feelings non-defensively. Relationship counseling and family therapy are designed with these goals in mind. We at Aviva love this work!
Benefits of relationship and family counseling
Stronger communication
Learn how to both express yourself and listen without defensiveness.
More emotional connection
Feel closer, safer, and better supported in your relationships.
Deeper understanding
See and hear each other with more understanding and less blame.
Conflict can close people off or bring them closer
Blame, avoidance, and denial are all common yet ineffective strategies in response to conflict. We understand that effective conflict resolution and prevention is hard and requires many skills that aren't often taught or modeled, and we are trained to help.
Couples counseling and family therapy are designed to build and practice these self awareness, emotion regulation, and communication skills with support, modeling, and live feedback.
FAQs about relationship and family counseling
Do you offer family therapy for families with kids?
We work with all types of relationships as long as all participating members are at least 18 years old, including partners, siblings, parents, adult children, and extended family members.
What if my partner or family member won’t come?
That’s okay. You can start on your own. Individual work can lead to powerful shifts in relationships too.
Is relationship therapy the same as couples counseling?
Couples therapy is one form of relationship counseling. We serve many diverse relationship structures.
Do you work with LGBTQIA2S+ couples and families?
Absolutely. We offer affirming care that respects and supports all identities and relationship structures.
Are couples, relationship and family therapy covered by insurance?
Couple/relationship therapy is NOT covered by insurance. Since the focus is on the relationship and not one individuals mental health diagnosis, it is not considered medically necessary by insurance and therefore ineligible for coverage.
What if confidence and connection
are still possible?
You don’t have to keep feeling like you’re missing each other. You don’t have to keep repeating the same arguments and carrying the same pain.
