Relationship Counseling San Diego
Deep-Dive Intensives for People in Relationships
When your relationship is struggling, it can consume your whole world.
You used to feel like a team.
Now it feels like every conversation turns into a misunderstanding or a full-blown fight.
Maybe you live together in San Diego, but you feel miles apart. You avoid certain topics because you already know how it ends. You scroll on your phone next to each other at night, both of you wondering if this is really it.
You might be:
Reeling from an affair or emotional betrayal
Walking on eggshells and trying not to “set them off”
Feeling like roommates who handle logistics but not intimacy
Thinking about separation or divorce and feeling terrified by both options
If you are in a relationship and you are tired of trying to fix it on your own, relationship counseling for San Diego couples and individuals can give you a clear path forward.
Instead of squeezing your pain into a 50-minute session and going right back into the same stuck pattern, we use relationship therapy intensives to slow things down, get underneath the fights, and help your nervous systems and hearts catch up to what you actually want.
You can attend your intensive virtually from San Diego or drive to my office in Rancho Cucamonga for in-person work, depending on the type of intensive and what feels best for you.
How Relationship Counseling Works for San Diego Clients
When we work together, you are not just “talking about communication.” We are working with your whole system: body, brain, heart, and relationship.
Step 1: Free consultation
We start with a brief phone or video consultation to talk about what is happening in your relationship and what you hope will change. We will decide together if a relationship counseling intensive is the best fit, whether it is:
A Couples Counseling Intensive for both of you
A Relationship Therapy Intensive for One if your partner is not ready or willing to join
Step 2: 1 or 2-Day Relationship Intensive
We begin with a 1 or 2-day intensive that includes:
Pre-intensive interviews with each of you (or just you, if you are coming alone)
A clear structure for talking through the hardest parts of your story
Brain-based tools like Brainspotting and, when appropriate, Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) to help your nervous system process what your mind cannot “think” its way through
By the end of the intensive, most couples and individuals report:
A deeper understanding of why you both react the way you do
A felt shift in your body and nervous system
Hope that change is actually possible with tools to actually apply at home
Step 3: Ongoing Deep-Dive Support
After your 2-day intensive, we continue our work together over the course of a year ,so this is not just a “big weekend” that fades.
You will meet for:
Monthly 4-hour mini-intensives, or
100-minute sessions twice per month
This format gives you the time and space you need to actually move through the stuck places and integrate new ways of relating.
About Alicia – Relationship Counselor for San Diego Couples and Individuals
I am Alicia Taverner, LMFT, a couples therapist and intensive specialist serving clients in San Diego and throughout California via virtual sessions, and in person at my office in Rancho Cucamonga.
I work with people in relationships who are in really hard places: on the brink of divorce, recovering from infidelity, or feeling like heartbroken roommates. For years I did therapy the standard way, with 50-minute weekly sessions. I watched couples leave with their nervous systems still activated and the most important conversations half-finished.
I knew there had to be a better way.
Now, I offer relationship therapy intensives that allow us to stay with the core issues long enough to create real change. I blend:
Couples counseling
Brainspotting and other brain-based approaches
Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (when clinically appropriate)
A deep respect for your body, your story, and your culture
My work is not about forcing you to stay together. It is about helping you both feel safe enough, regulated enough, and clear enough to decide what you truly want and to move toward it with honesty and care.
If you are in San Diego and your relationship is in crisis, you do not have to figure this out alone.
FAQ – Relationship Counseling San Diego
1. Do I have to live in San Diego to work with you?
No. I see clients from across California online and in person at my Rancho Cucamonga office. This page is specifically for people in San Diego who are searching for relationship counseling and are open to traveling for an intensive or working virtually. My office is about a 90 minute drive from San Diego, which works when you only need to come in for an intensive.
2. Will my intensive be in San Diego or Rancho Cucamonga?
Most in-person intensives take place at my office in Rancho Cucamonga. Many San Diego couples and individuals choose to make the drive and turn it into a dedicated time focused just on their relationship. Some types of intensives can be done virtually, so we can discuss what makes the most sense during your consultation.
3. What if my partner refuses to come to counseling?
You can still do powerful work through a Relationship Therapy Intensive for One. When one person in a relationship changes their patterns, it often shifts the entire dynamic. You will have support in understanding your options and deciding what is healthiest for you.
4. How is relationship counseling with you different from weekly couples therapy in San Diego?
Traditional weekly sessions are short and often end right when you hit the hard part. In an intensive format, we have time to slow down, understand your patterns, and help your nervous system settle instead of repeatedly retraumatizing you. We combine deep emotional work with brain-based tools like Brainspotting and, when appropriate, KAP.
5. Is this covered by insurance?
I am an out-of-network provider and do not bill insurance directly. Some clients are able to seek reimbursement for certain services, depending on their plan. We can talk about fees during your consultation so you can make a fully informed decision.
6. Do you only work with married, heterosexual couples?
No. I work with people in all kinds of committed relationships, including dating, engaged, married, remarried, and non-traditional partnerships. All genders, sexual orientations, and relationship structures are welcome here.