Hello, I am Cristina Trette, a Couples Therapist based in Encinitas, California. I help couples renew trust, love & intimacy.

Get Started

Loving relationships are the foundation of a meaningful life.

The relationship we have with our spouse or partner has a profound impact on our health and well-being. Yet even strong relationships can become stuck in conflict, betrayal, hurt, and disconnection. I help couples heal what has come between them and rebuild the love, trust, and intimacy they once shared.

Specialties

  • Communication

    I help couples slow down and understand what is happening beneath the surface of their conversations. Rather than fighting, or avoiding conflict, I will coach you to communicate clearly and in ways that help you feel heard and understood.

  • Emotional Connection

    We all need connection and someone to turn to and reach for. I help couples strengthen their emotional bond, helping them navigate conflict with greater resilience, and experience enhance feelings of well-being.

  • Sexual Intimacy

    Sexual intimacy is a vital aspect of love relationships, reflecting physical closeness and emotional depth. I help couples approach sex with care and openness, addressing blocks to eroticism, desire, arousal, intimacy, and pleasure.

  • Infidelity and Betrayal

    Betrayal can be traumatic and shake the foundation of a relationship. I work with partners to process hurt, have honest conversations, rebuild trust, and find a path forward whether the goal is to stay together or amicably part ways.

  • Parenting and Family

    Parenting and family life can be deeply rewarding, while also creating stress and conflict between partners. I help couples navigate parenting challenges together, so they can respond to their children and each other with confidence and care.

  • Brink of Divorce

    For couples considering divorce, when one partner is leaning in and the other is leaning out, I offer discernment counseling. This is a structured process designed to help you gain clarity and confidence on the direction of your marriage.

A woman in a light-colored shirt and dark pants sitting on a beige armchair, smiling during a conversation with two people whose backs are visible in the foreground in a cozy room with a bookshelf and plants.

Meet Cristina Trette, Couples Therapist

I have dedicated my career to helping couples communicate, heal the past, and cultivate a renewed sense of intimacy and connection.

My approach is rooted in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy and attachment theory, which offer a powerful way of understanding love, bonding, conflict, and distance. In EFCT, we go deep, working to understand and transform the root causes of conflict and distance, rather than simply managing the problems on the surface.

I believe couples therapy should be directive, deeply compassionate, and highly engaged. I don't sit back and let couples fight, spend months rehashing the past, or simply listen and validate. I help couples slow down the patterns that keep taking over, understand each other better, and create new moments of understanding and connection in the room.

My goal is to help you create a relationship in which you can turn toward one another, repair when things go wrong, feel secure in the bond you share, enjoy sexual closeness, and experience a true sense of partnership.

Get Started

You have options when it comes to couples therapy. Here is why my approach is different.

Couples Are My Specialty

Helping couples heal and grow in relationships is the exclusive focus of my practice. There are many therapists that occasionally do couples therapy; couples therapy is all I do. I am well versed in the common challenges couples face, such as communication struggles, loss of sexual intimacy, and patterns of anxious pursuit and avoidant withdraw. I am also deeply experienced in relationship crisis such as infidelity and couples on brink of divorce.

Ongoing Training

I have a Masters Degree in Marital and Family Therapy from the University of San Diego and am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. I engage in ongoing training in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, one of the most researched and effective approaches to relationship healing. I continually pursue advanced training and consultation so the therapy you receive is thoughtful, current, and effective.

Practice What I Teach

I know firsthand how challenging it can be to nurture a strong and loving relationship while navigating the demands of work, family, and everyday life. My life partner and I have five children between us, operate a business together, and make space for our relationship. I believe wholeheartedly in the importance of connection and caring for the people we value most. The principles that guide my work with clients are prioritized within my own relationship and family.

Professionalism and Maturity

I bring life experience, clinical depth, and direct guidance to help you understand the patterns that keep you stuck and guide you towards positive, meaningful, and lasting change.

Warm, Personal, and Engaged Care

Operating a small boutique practice enables me to be accessible, responsive, and engaged with my clients. If indicated, I coordinate care with individual therapists and psychiatrists to ensure a team of support. In addition, I have a network of professionals I regularly refer my clients to including financial advisors, mediators, and lawyers.

Get Started
There’s something powerful about revisiting where you started. It creates space to reflect on how you’ve grown, individually & together, & can bring back a sense of curiosity that often fades over time. #firstdate #datenight #da
Most conflict lives beneath the words being said. When we slow down and get curious about what is underneath, the conversation can shift from reactive to connecting. Try asking: “What’s coming up for you underneath this?” #communi
The health of a relationship is often found in the smallest interactions. Bids for connection happen every day, & how we respond to them matters more than we think. Over time, these moments either strengthen the relationship or create quiet disc
Sometimes relationships don’t fall apart, they just feel harder to reach. More distant. More quiet. More heavy than you want them to be. We believe connection is still possible. At Integrative Couples Therapy, we support couples & individ
Small moments matter more than we think. Showing up for your partner does not have to be big or elaborate. Often it is the quiet consistent gestures that build the most connection. Try one of these today and notice what shifts between you. #connecti
Sexual intimacy is deeply connected to emotional safety, trust, & connection. When things feel off, it’s often not just about sex. Stress, disconnection, life transitions, or past experiences can all impact how safe, open, or present we fe
The difference isn’t just in the words. It’s in the willingness to take ownership and truly understand your partner’s experience. That’s what turns conflict into connection. #therapy #couplestherapy #marriage #relationship #a
Escalation in conflict is often a signal, not the problem. When emotions rise, it’s usually because something meaningful is at stake feeling heard, valued, or emotionally safe. But the ways we try to get those needs met can sometimes push our p
Not all struggling relationships are loud. Some feel quiet, distant, or “off” in a way that’s hard to explain. Over time, small moments of missed connection can add up until partners feel more like roommates than a couple. The goal
In therapy, we help couples make room for complexity, slow down reactivity, & learn how to hold both their own experience & their partner’s with more curiosity & care. #therapy #couplestherapy #relationship #marriage