Couples & Relationship Therapist in Pasadena, California
I’m Dr. Chris Tickner, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with more than 30 years of experience helping individuals and couples navigate the places where relationships become painful, complicated, or stuck.
Today, much of my work focuses on couples and relationship therapy — particularly couples dealing with recurring conflict, emotional disconnection, betrayal or infidelity, loss of intimacy, major transitions, and the feeling that the relationship they once knew has somehow gotten lost.
I work with couples who care deeply about one another but may no longer know how to reach each other. Some come in during an acute crisis. Others have spent years repeating the same arguments, growing increasingly distant, or wondering whether meaningful change is still possible.
My goal is not simply to help couples communicate more effectively. I want to help people understand the deeper patterns shaping their relationship, create greater emotional safety, and develop new ways of responding to one another that can hold up outside the therapy room.
My Approach
My work is integrative, relational, experiential, and strongly informed by attachment theory, somatic psychology, and contemporary couples therapy.
I am a Level II practitioner in the Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT), and my background also includes advanced training in Hakomi Psychotherapy, relational somatic psychotherapy, trauma treatment, mindfulness, and body-oriented approaches to psychological change.
Rather than relying on a single method, I draw from these approaches according to the needs of the people sitting in front of me.
In sessions, we may pay attention not only to what you and your partner are saying, but also to the patterns happening between you in real time: how quickly conflict escalates, where one of you withdraws, what gets misunderstood, how trust has been damaged, and what each person needs in order to feel safer and more connected.
My style is warm, direct, engaged, and collaborative. I believe good therapy should be compassionate without becoming vague, and challenging without becoming adversarial.
Couples Therapy
Couples work is a central focus of my practice.
I frequently work with couples experiencing:
- recurring conflict and communication breakdowns;
- emotional distance or loss of connection;
- betrayal, affairs, or breaches of trust;
- intimacy and sexual relationship concerns;
- major life transitions;
- the impact of trauma or past relationships on the current partnership;
- uncertainty about whether to stay together;
- relationships that feel stuck despite previous therapy.
Couples therapy can be useful not only when a relationship is in crisis, but also when two people want to understand each other more deeply and build a relationship that feels more secure, intimate, and resilient.
Affair and Betrayal Recovery
The discovery of an affair or other significant betrayal can destabilize nearly every part of a relationship.
Couples often arrive in therapy unsure whether repair is possible, whether trust can ever return, or even whether they want the relationship to continue.
My work in these situations is not about forcing reconciliation or rushing forgiveness. It is about helping both partners understand what has happened, stabilize the immediate crisis, address the injury honestly, and determine whether a healthier and more trustworthy relationship can be built from what remains.
Individual Therapy
I also work with individual adults, particularly when personal patterns, trauma, relationship history, identity, or major life transitions are affecting the way they experience themselves and their relationships.
My individual work tends to be depth-oriented and relational rather than narrowly symptom-focused. We may explore the patterns beneath anxiety, disconnection, self-doubt, relational difficulty, or a sense of being stuck, with the goal of creating meaningful and lasting change.
Experience and Training
I hold a Master’s degree in Somatic Psychology from Naropa University and a doctoral degree in Somatic Psychology from Santa Barbara Graduate Institute.
My professional training includes:
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, California LMFT #42576
- More than 30 years of clinical experience
- Level II PACT Practitioner
- Certified Relational Somatic Psychotherapist
- Advanced training in Hakomi Psychotherapy
- Advanced study and training in trauma-focused and body-oriented psychotherapy
- Clinical supervision, consultation, training, and professional education
Working With Me
I see clients in person at my Pasadena office at 491 S. Marengo Avenue and by telehealth throughout California.
Appointments are available on weekdays and evenings.
If you are considering therapy and would like to get a sense of whether we may be a good fit, you are welcome to schedule a consultation.