Dr. Audrey Keaney, PhD
Relationship Therapy
Relationships can be one of the most meaningful sources of joy in our lives—and also one of the most challenging. Many couples or partners seek therapy when they feel stuck, disconnected, overwhelmed, or uncertain about how to move forward. Whether you’re longing to feel closer, struggling with recurring conflict, or navigating complex dynamics, I provide a safe, supportive space to explore what’s happening between you and to build healthier, more fulfilling ways of relating.
My approach draws from attachment theory and relational, neuroscience-informed practices, which emphasize our deep need for connection, safety, and trust. I view relationship struggles not as one partner’s fault, but as patterns that both people contribute to and can work to shift together. In therapy, we look at those cycles—how hurt, miscommunication, or unmet needs play out—and practice new ways of listening, responding, and connecting.
I work with a wide range of couples and partnerships and affirm diverse identities, relationship structures, and sexual expressions. A particular focus of my work is supporting couples and partners in the areas of sex and intimacy—helping you navigate challenges around desire, sexual expression, physical closeness, and emotional vulnerability.
Areas I commonly support include:
Building and restoring physical and emotional intimacy
Navigating mismatched desire or changes in sexual connection
Healing from past hurts and trauma that affect closeness
Strengthening communication and conflict resolution skills
Rebuilding trust and security after breaches or disconnection
Navigating major life transitions (parenthood, loss, career changes, etc.)
Couples and partners who benefit most from this work are often motivated to strengthen their bond—even if they feel unsure how to get there. For those who feel uncertain about the future of their relationship, therapy can also provide space for clarity and thoughtful decision-making about how (or if) to move forward together.
My role as your therapist is not to take sides or assign blame, but to help you and your partner feel truly heard, understood, and supported. Together, we can uncover the underlying dynamics shaping your connection and build pathways toward greater security & intimacy.
If you live in the state of California, I am available to book for therapy appointments via telehealth through under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Christian, PsyD (PSY30295).
Specialties
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Sexuality and desire are deeply embodied and deeply vulnerable. Shame, past hurt, nervous system dysregulation, and disconnection from the body can all create blocks to physical and emotional closeness. I work somatically with couples to get curious about what's getting in the way, navigate differences in desire without blame, and move toward intimacy that feels safe, honest, and alive.
There are many reasons couples find themselves disconnected sexually — low libido shaped by hormones, stress, or exhaustion; past sexual trauma that has made the body a difficult place to inhabit; shame or cultural conditioning around expressing needs, wishes, and fantasies; or performance anxiety that makes it hard to stay present.
In session, we slow things down and make space for conversations that may have felt too loaded to have before. I support you in exploring where pressure or anxiety around intimacy is coming from, building a shared language for desire and repair, and trying new things at your own pace. The aim is connection that feels genuine for both of you — rediscovering desire, learning to ask for what you want, and bringing intimacy back into your everyday life in a way that actually fits.
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The same fight, different day. It starts with walking on eggshells, and no matter what you do, someone ends up feeling too much or not enough. The arguing is exhausting, but it's the loneliness underneath that really wears you down.
These cycles are rarely about the surface issue. Beneath recurring conflict are nervous system responses, unmet needs, and attachment wounds that keep pulling you back into the same loop. Together we slow down those patterns, understand what's really happening for each of you, and build new ways of listening and responding that don't leave you both feeling worse.
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Trust can be broken in a single moment, or eroded slowly over time through emotional unavailability, disconnection, or unmet needs. Whether you're navigating the aftermath of infidelity, a significant rupture, or a gradual drift that has left you feeling unsafe or unseen, the path back to each other requires more than forgiveness. It requires understanding what broke down and why.
This work creates space for both partners to feel heard without blame, to grieve what was lost, and to slowly rebuild the safety and security that intimacy requires. Repair is possible, but it takes honesty, patience, and a willingness to understand each other more deeply than before.
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What looks like a relationship problem is often a trauma response. Childhood attachment wounds, past relational hurt, and unresolved trauma shape how we give and receive love — how close we let people in, how we respond when we feel threatened, and what we do when we're hurt. When one or both partners carry unresolved trauma, it can create cycles of disconnection that feel confusing and painful for both.
This work helps you understand how the past is showing up in the present, distinguish trauma responses from relationship dynamics, and create the safety that allows both partners to soften and connect. Healing relationally is possible, and it often begins with simply understanding each other more clearly.
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Major life changes — becoming parents, navigating loss, career shifts, or unexpected upheaval — can strain even the strongest relationships. Transitions often resurface old wounds and patterns, and can leave partners feeling out of sync, unsupported, or suddenly unfamiliar to each other. This work helps you navigate change together, staying connected even when you're not in the same place, supporting each other through grief and uncertainty, and finding new footing as individuals and as a couple.
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Ethically non-monogamous, polyamorous, open, queer, and kink-involved relationships have their own unique strengths, dynamics, and challenges, and deserve a therapist who understands that without pathologizing or judgment. I am affirming of diverse relationship structures, sexual identities, and expressions, and bring familiarity with the landscapes of ENM and kink.
Whether you're navigating jealousy, negotiating boundaries, managing multiple relationships, or simply looking for a space where your relationship doesn't need to be explained or justified, this is that space. We work with what's actually happening between you — with curiosity, respect, and without assumption about what your relationship should look like.
How I Work
My approach to couples therapy is relational and depth-oriented, grounded in the belief that the patterns we live out in intimate relationships are shaped by our histories, our attachments, and what remains unconscious in each of us. I draw primarily on psychodynamic and attachment-based frameworks, informed by Jungian and somatic perspectives, and woven together in response to what each couple brings.
In couples work, the relationship is the client. I hold space for both partners and for what lives between you: the familiar arguments, the silences, the ways you reach for each other and miss. Together we slow these moments down to understand what is really being asked for underneath them.
Our earliest relationships shape how we love. The ways we learned to seek closeness, protect ourselves, and manage need often resurface most powerfully with a partner. Much of what we react to in the other is connected to older wounds and unmet longings. Exploring each partner’s history helps make sense of why certain moments feel so charged, and opens room for responding differently.
Intimacy asks us to be seen, which can feel both deeply wanted and deeply risky. I attend to the dynamics that draw you toward each other and pull you apart: pursuit and withdrawal, longing and fear, desire and its absence. I also pay gentle attention to what happens in the body during difficult moments, since noticing these shifts can help you stay present with one another rather than retreat into old defenses.
Rupture and repair are part of every relationship. Here you can practice repair with support, learning to stay with difficult conversations and find your way back to connection. Alongside resolving conflict, I listen for the deeper questions: what each of you needs to feel known, what grief needs tending, and what wants to come more fully alive between you. The aim is a more honest, intimate, and compassionate partnership, one where both people can grow.
To book an appointment, initial consultation, or find out more details:
Call (408) 827-5764 or
Email here
Some Questions Answered
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Sessions are typically 50 minutes, and typically scheduled to occur on the same day/time every week.
Meeting weekly at the beginning helps us build momentum. It gives you a chance to try new ways of talking, repair small ruptures quickly, and create real change at home while the work is still fresh.
Once your relationship starts feeling steadier and safer, we can absolutely space sessions out.
Each relationship and situation is unique, and session frequency can be an ongoing conversation in our work together.
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Yes, at this time I am only seeing clients virtually across California.
You can join me from your home or from a private space on your lunch break. Online therapy is portable and flexible.
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Therapy is a highly individual journey and it is not possible to say how long it will take.
It really depends on your goals, what you’re both bringing in, and how much effort you’re putting in between sessions. Some couples start feeling shifts within a few months, while others want longer-term support to really untangle deeper stuff. My goal isn’t to keep you in therapy forever—it’s to help you build the kind of relationship where you don’t need me long-term.
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Sessions are $200 per 50-minutes.
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I accept payment by debit or credit card only at this time, including FSA and HSA cards.
I do not accept insurance, but I can provide a super bill which you can use for reimbursement from your insurance provider.
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I have several sliding-scale spots as part of my practice. Reach out to discuss if you may be eligible.
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Your appointments are reserved specifically for you, and I value the time we set aside to work together. If you need to cancel or reschedule, please provide at least 24 hours' notice to avoid a late cancellation fee. Appointments canceled with less than 24 hours' notice will incur the full fee of the session. Sessions cancelled within the 24 hour time-frame that are rescheduled within the same week do not incur a charge. Thank you for respecting this policy, as it allows me to best serve all my clients.
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Due to state regulations, I am unable to provide therapy to those living outside of California. However I do provide coaching for individuals around the world. Contact me for more details.
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If you’re not sure where to start, I offer a free 30-minute consultation.
We’ll discuss what’s been going on, what you’re hoping for and any questions you have about therapy or working with me.
From there, we can decide on the next steps.