Valarie Gardner, AMFT

Life’s waves, anxiety, conflict, grief, or painful relationship patterns can sometimes feel overwhelming. Together, we’ll learn to ride those waves rather than fight against them, building the awareness, resilience, and confidence to navigate life’s challenges with greater skill and steadiness.

I support couples, adults, teens, and families who are ready to move beyond symptom management to create meaningful, lasting change. My approach is from-the-heart, collaborative, and grounded in compassion, attachment theory, and neuroscience. I specialize in helping couples break free from recurring cycles of conflict, emotional distance, broken trust, and communication patterns that leave both partners feeling alone. Many of the couples I work with are balancing parenting, demanding careers, caregiving, or major life transitions and want to rediscover the closeness, partnership, and intimacy they once shared—or perhaps have never fully experienced.

I earned my B.A. from UC Santa Cruz, my teaching credential from California State University, Northridge, and my M.A. in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Pepperdine University. My advanced training includes Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, the Level 1 Training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy, EMDR, Internal Family Systems for EMDR, Prepare/Enrich for premarital counseling, and certification as a Clinical Trauma Treatment Professional (CCTP/CCTP-II).

My fee is $190. I would be honored to work together.