Lia Schaefer LICSW, PLLC

Seattle Couples Therapy

Creating solid, lasting, and connected relationships.

Virtual Marriage and Couples Counseling in Washington and California

Welcome to my practice! I am Lia Schaefer, a therapist who guides couples toward growth, healing, and hope. My therapeutic approach centers on self-reflection, emotion processing and identifying destructive cycles that negatively impact your relationship. Together, we will break free of these negative cycles and create new positive ways of responding and engaging. I look forward to collaborating and helping you get unstuck. Schedule your free consultation to get started.

Meet Your Couples Therapist, Lia Schaefer

I am passionate about helping couples recover from painful states of aloneness and I have been there myself. As a clinician with advanced training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), I recognize the power of emotions to create healthy attachments as well as cycles of hurt and despair. You will be guided to understand your and your partner’s emotional experience. You will begin to get in touch with your innermost longings and fears and be able to share them from an authentic place inside of yourself.

How Couples Therapy in Seattle Can Help

Couples therapy is beneficial for anyone in a committed relationship, regardless of marital status. It can help you gain valuable insights and tools to help resolve conflict and improve your relationship. Couples therapy is something to consider if you are dealing with the following:

You struggle to show up authentically in your relationship.
You are feeling burnt out, critical of yourself or your partner.
One or both of you are “project managing” your relationship and/or household.
You have to hide a part(s) of yourself or wish these parts would just go away.
It feels like only one of you is entitled to acknowledgement and the other has to find a way to manage without it.
You struggle with shame and self-contempt about your needs and desires, yet long for recognition and connection.

Couples Counseling in Seattle, WA

Couples therapy is hard work and requires each person to engage in deep self-reflection and consider their own emotional reactions that, though understandable, may be perpetuating cycles of disconnection. I will help you identify and step out of destructive cycles, and create new ways of responding and engaging to strengthen your emotional connection.

A deeper connection starts to happen when you are guided to observe and give your current yet problematic coping patterns deep respect and validation before taking on the bold challenge of trying something new. In EFT, we call this the “cycle”, or the dance that plays out between the two of you. You and your partner will be gently guided to experience what it feels like to notice, respect, and step out of a recurring negative cycle.

There is a way to navigate relationships in a way that feels…good. Use your voice in a way that conveys acceptance of your needs, builds capacity to get your needs met, and nurtures connection with your partner.

Couples therapy isn’t just about processing negative emotional experiences. It also includes a focus on the positive emotional experiences one is having. It means getting more comfortable with emotions linked to experiences of receiving care, connection, strength, security, aliveness, and personal truth.

I’ve worked with Lia Schafer for over a decade. Lia is warm, intelligent, genuine, and continues to work on herself personally and professionally. Finding a provider who continues to grow their clinical skills and has worked on their own healing is imperative to finding a therapist. Lia is helpful, reliable, and cares deeply about social justice issues and inclusion. I have and will continue to refer clients to Lia because I trust her and have witnessed how her work has transformed others.

Anh Plasencia, LMFT

Lia is the person you want in your corner. She is grounded, passionate, and deeply empathetic. She is humble yet brilliant and has an innate ability to get to the heart of the thing, and really understand what is needed and how to show up. Her relaxed, enthusiastic and supportive demeanor is totally disarming yet she will challenge you to dig into and work through questions, challenges, and obstacles on your path to becoming a whole, healed human. I can truly say that anyone whose life intersects with Lia’s, is better for it!

Nina Basker, CPM

Lia Schaefer is an amazing therapist who exudes authenticity, warmth, compassion, and wisdom. As a licensed psychologist, I often refer individuals and couples for counseling with Lia because I trust her skills to connect deeply with clients and make lasting change in their lives. Lia specializes in helping people find compassion and acceptance of their whole selves and live an empowered and authentic life.

Jennifer Chain, PhD

As a psychiatrist (MD) who has collaborated with Lia Schaefer on shared patients, I can confidently state that she is an excellent therapist. She practices modalities of therapy that seem particularly helpful to patients, and she creates a safe, supportive, and trusting environment. She appears to always-be-learning and improving her skillset, which likely explains why she is already so competent. If you are looking to connect with a great therapist, definitely consider her!

Wade Reiner, MD

Lia is a compassionate, authentic and thoughtful therapist. She cares deeply about social justice issues, helping her client become the best versions of themselves, and walks the talk through her ongoing professional development.