Val Sanders
I want your life partner to feel like the love of your life.
If your co-parent isn't your life partner anymore, I want them to feel like a trusted collaborator, someone you trust to deal with difficult parenting situations together, as a team.
I help couples to rebuild their relationships, no matter what form the new relationships take. Life is complicated, and if you're feeling like you are failing at communicating, frustrated with the other person and yourself, then it generally means you're lacking the skills to connect and negotiate conflict. My approach is grounded in helping you understand what is really happening between you--I call it the “upside down”--and give you tools to change the patterns and find far healthier ways to relate to each other, tools that can be useful in all relationships in your life.
I rely most heavily on Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT), and also draw significantly from the Gottman Method and individual modalities including Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). I help couples rediscover their love, face parenting challenges, support children with special needs, deal with divorce, and/or build new, healthy blended family systems.
I also work with adults struggling with anxiety, depression, ‘imposter syndrome,’ career struggles, and interpersonal challenges. I help my clients map the behaviors and patterns that are causing distress, understand where they come from, and find the best tools to change those patterns in service of living happier, more fulfilled, and more connected lives.
I am a graduate of Cornell University (BA) and the University of Texas at Austin (MBA) and hold a Master's in Counseling from Bowie State University. I came to counseling after a two-decade career in business and eight years as an executive coach, helping hundreds of individuals find career direction and success, establish healthy boundaries and work/life balance, and deepen relationships.
I live with my spouse of 19 years, two wonderful teenagers, and many animals on a mini-farm in Potomac. I enjoy time with my family and friends, being outdoors, and attending theater performances. I am also an avid reader of non-fiction, sci fi, and great fiction from any genre, and am on track to finish 60 books this year.
Clinical Degree: Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor
Additional Trainings: Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy Externship (ICEEFT), Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy Core Skills (ICEEFT)