by Sabrina Walters | Dec 11, 2025 | Communication, Connection, Core Values Couples, Couples, couples counseling, couples therapy, Couples Therapy Portland, Fun, Gottman Method, Marriage, relationship counseling, Relationships
If you’ve been following along in this four-part series, you know we’ve been exploring what makes relationships thrive — not by accident, but through intention, connection, and shared joy. In the first installment, we looked at how couples can stop “drifting” and...
by Sabrina Walters | Nov 26, 2025 | Core Values Counseling, Couples, Family, Fun, Gottman Method, Marriage, Relationships
Hello, friends! It’s Sabrina again. In our first post in this series, I introduced you to the work of Cameron Madill — and why it’s important to design your relationship rather than drift through it. Cameron’s Funshops make that process joyful and intentional. Today,...
by Sabrina Walters | Nov 25, 2025 | Connection, Core Values, Core Values Index (CVI), Family, Gratitute, Holidays, Mental Health
As we round the corner into Thanksgiving, it’s tempting to lean into the familiar tropes: gratitude lists, “five things I’m thankful for,” or the ever-present reminder to count our blessings. But at Core Values Counseling, we want to lean into a subtler, more grounded...
by Sabrina Walters | Oct 29, 2025 | Attachment, Communication, Connection, Couples, Fun, Relationships, Romance
My husband Eric and I have known and appreciated Cameron Madill’s relationship work for a long time. After attending the opening premiere of the first Funshop, we knew this was something worth sharing, and I was thrilled to sit down with Cameron recently to talk about...
by Sabrina Walters | Oct 14, 2025 | Attachment, Communication, Connection, Couples, couples counseling, couples therapy, Couples Therapy Portland, Gottman Method, Marriage, relationship counseling, Relationships
Every couple has their own little quirks and inside jokes — the kind of shorthand that makes you both smile even in the middle of a busy day. But what if you took that idea even further by implementing one of our fun relationship tips, and creating your own secret...
by Sabrina Walters | Sep 9, 2025 | Attachment, Communication, Connection, Core Values, Couples, Gottman Method, Marriage, Relationships, Spiritual
Cultivating shared meaning is one of those phrases that sounds big and abstract — but in reality, shared meaning shows up in the small, everyday moments that make a relationship thrive. The Gottmans describe shared meaning as the culture of your relationship: the...
by Sabrina Walters | Sep 9, 2025 | Attachment, Communication, Connection, Family, Parenting
One of the shifts that can feel both surprising and necessary in adulthood is the way our relationships with our parents change. As young adults, it can feel natural to want to share everything — calling home every day or filling in your parents on every detail of...
by Sabrina Walters | Aug 27, 2025 | Anxiety, Communication, Connection, Family, Transitions
School is starting, the leaves are turning, and pumpkin spice is about to make its annual debut. For many of us, fall carries a sense of rhythm and routine that summer often lacks — a chance to return to familiar patterns, nourish our bodies, and reconnect with...
by Sabrina Walters | Aug 21, 2025 | Core Values Counseling, Counseling, Counseling Portland, couples therapy, Couples Therapy Portland, Mental Health, Therapy Portland
At Core Values Counseling, we want you to know one thing above all else: we care about your mental health. Our deepest desire has always been to make counseling accessible, safe, and supportive for as many people as possible. That’s why the recent changes to Oregon...
by Sabrina Walters | Aug 18, 2025 | Conflict, Counseling, Emotions, Family, Grief, Parenting, Therapy Portland
In Part 1 of this series, we explored what it means to love a parent who may not be able to meet your emotional needs. And in Part 2, we learned how to parent your own children while navigating that same dynamic. Today, we turn to a part of this work that often goes...
by Sabrina Walters | Aug 8, 2025 | Conflict, Connection, Family, Parenting, Therapy Portland
In Part 1 of this series, we explored what it means to love a parent who may not be able to meet your emotional needs. Now, we’re turning our attention to parenting your own children while navigating that same dynamic. This can be one of the most emotionally...
by Sabrina Walters | Jul 31, 2025 | Communication, Connection, Counseling, Counseling Portland, Depression, Emotions, Family, Neurofeedback Portland, neurofeedback therapy, Parenting, Therapy Portland
It’s a painful truth for many of us: the realization that a parent we love deeply may not be emotionally available in the way we need. We want to feel seen, supported, and understood — but instead, we often walk away from interactions feeling dismissed, misunderstood,...
by Sabrina Walters | Jul 23, 2025 | Connection, Counseling Portland, Couples, couples counseling, couples therapy, Couples Therapy Portland, Intimacy, Marriage, relationship counseling, Relationships
There’s a quiet ache that can settle into long-term relationships: the feeling of coexisting rather than truly connecting. You’re raising kids, building careers, caring for aging parents — and somewhere in all that hustle, the person you once felt closest to...
by Sabrina Walters | Jul 16, 2025 | Communication, Conflict, Connection, Counseling, Counseling Portland, Couples, couples counseling, couples therapy, Couples Therapy Portland, Emotional Regulation, Emotions, Marriage, relationship counseling, Relationships, Therapy Portland
If you read Part 1 of this series, you saw how a simple pause — especially when paired with playful rituals — can help kids regulate big emotions through connection. But pausing isn’t just for little ones. In our adult relationships, it’s just as powerful....
by Sabrina Walters | Jul 9, 2025 | Communication, Connection, Emotional Regulation, Emotions, Parenting, Youth
One of the most powerful tools we have as parents and caregivers is simple: the pause. It’s not something most of us were taught growing up. Many of us didn’t have caregivers who paused; we had people who reacted. But choosing to pause — to stop,...
by Sabrina Walters | Jun 27, 2025 | Anxiety, Communication, Connection, Counseling, Counseling Portland, Emotions, Family, Parenting, Therapy Portland, Youth
As parents, we so often feel the pressure to be calm, steady, and composed — especially when we’re struggling inside. We want to protect our children from our hard emotions, to shield them from the anxiety, sadness, or overwhelm we carry. But the truth is,...
by Sabrina Walters | Jun 24, 2025 | Communication, Connection, Counseling, Counseling Portland, Couples, couples counseling, couples therapy, Couples Therapy Portland, Depression, Gottman Method, Marriage, Neurofeedback Portland, neurofeedback therapy, relationship counseling, Relationships, Therapy Portland
Three Practical Steps to Reconnect and Realign In Part 1 of this series, we explored what can happen when one partner has gone through a season of personal growth — and the other hasn’t. It’s more common than you might think, especially in long-term...
by Sabrina Walters | Jun 12, 2025 | Communication, Connection, Counseling, Counseling Portland, Couples, couples counseling, couples therapy, Couples Therapy Portland, Depression, Gottman Method, Marriage, Neurofeedback Portland, neurofeedback therapy, relationship counseling, Relationships, Therapy Portland, Transitions
Navigating the Emotional Gap with Curiosity and Compassion It’s a situation I see often in couples counseling: one partner embarks on a journey of personal growth — through therapy, spiritual practice, a career shift, or a big life transition — and the other...
by Sabrina Walters | Jun 3, 2025 | Connection, Couples, Couples Therapy Portland, Family, Gottman Method, Marriage, relationship counseling, Relationships
Summer has a way of getting away from us, doesn’t it? One minute we’re talking about warmer weather, and the next thing we know, school is starting again and the chaos of fall is creeping in. That’s why now is the perfect time to plan — not just for vacations...
by Sabrina Walters | May 29, 2025 | Attachment, Communication, Connection, Counseling, Counseling Portland, Couples, couples counseling, couples therapy, Couples Therapy Portland, Gottman Method, Marriage, Relationships, Therapy Portland
In the first post of this series, we explored the importance of accepting influence in relationships. Now let’s look at how this principle can completely shift the way we experience conflict with our partner. When couples seek out couples counseling,...
