Couples Therapy

I help couples work on getting the relationship they want by understanding what’s preventing them from getting there and then identifying solutions toward desired outcomes. Partners can bring out the best and worst qualities in us which provide ample opportunities for growth and connection. That doesn’t always look as pretty or as easy as it sounds. When our weaknesses are being tested our responses don’t necessarily elicit the outcomes we’d prefer.

I work with couples to get to know themselves better as individuals and as a couple. When you understand yourself and your partner in the context of your experience, their experience, and in the colliding of those lives, the relationship has the potential to shift.

I ask questions about what you want and need from your partner. We work on communication and learning how to get what we want by choosing behaviors that support our needs and desires and knowing what it looks like when we are getting in our own way or when we block growth and connection in relationship. I also use humor, life and therapy can be heavy so I try to lighten it up!

Surf Therapy for Couples

Get curious about your partner! Get to know them in a different environment and start having fun again…or for the first time. Surfing is a great way to connect with your own strength and curiosity and to build new connections and experiences with your partner.

Why “Surf Therapy”?

The natural environment is one of our most important teachers. By connecting with the ocean regularly, you can learn to surf, understand the ocean and its many moods, and gain tools to improve the relationship with yourself and with others.

General outcomes include: learning to adapt, build physical & mental strength, balance, endurance, operating in an uncontrollable environment, decrease stress, increase focus, mindfulness, and resilience.

Surf Therapy vs. Surf Lesson?

In a surf lesson you learn to surf. In a surf therapy session you learn to surf and integrate reflection, insight, ocean awareness and education with regard to your personal experience in the ocean and in life. There are so many elements at play while surfing. The waves provide more condensed and immediate opportunities for learning.

Location: Currently (as of June 2023) Newport Beach. For more info on private surf lessons or surf therapy sessions contact 949.424.3060 or sydneyehensler@gmail.com.