Alexander Tran, M.A., RP

Do your arguments go from 0 to 100 before either of you knows how you got there?

Maybe you keep having the same fight, one of you gets louder while the other shuts down. You still love each other, but it’s getting harder to feel like you’re on the same team.

I’m Alex, and I help couples understand what’s underneath these conflicts and find different ways of reaching each other.

My curiosity about relationships started early. As a teenager, I noticed how differently my own family members related to each other and watched my parents, friends, and peers navigate relationships, some loving and connected, others deeply rooted in conflict. Hearing people wonder whether things could change, or whether they should leave, made me want to understand relationships more deeply.

My own relationship became one of my biggest teachers. I wasn’t always the greatest at handling disagreements, and I had to recognize my own shortcomings. I learned that change also meant learning how to connect with my partner, make them feel loved, and work together rather than against each other. Those lessons eventually became part of what drew me to working with high-conflict couples.

I’ve also experienced significant life transitions and anticipatory grief, which have shaped the compassion I bring to individuals navigating uncertainty, change, and loss.

Why Work with me

Working with me looks a lot like processing emotions, going through something that’s messy and making sense of your experience. What you can expect is a warm welcoming space, where I take the time to help move you through different stages with empathy and compassion. If you’re a couple, notice the release of tension, learning how to work while feeling disconnected to connection, feeling more confident and loving towards your partner and walking out of a session with strategies on how to better understand each other.. If you’re going through a difficult life transition and grief we want to work with your plans, your stuckness and getting you to realize hopes and strengths.

This is for me, a deep sense of inspiration and drive to work with high conflict couples and help individuals with life transitions or experiencing grief / loss, namely any loss of a relationship or even anticipatory grief, knowing that you may lose a relationship or someone soon. 

Here’s what I offer:

• Clarity, understanding and better connection with my partner

• Couples therapy: reduce conflicts, build better long term strategies for the future of the relationship

• Grief / Loss: connecting to parts of yourself and understanding your emotions

• Relational depth: working in stages to increase emotional awareness and processing difficulty

• A calm, hopeful presence: working with your values and strengths to go beyond

I want to bring hope, clarity and understanding to help people go beyond their stuck points and to see themselves as capable and leave sessions feeling more confident that they can handle what comes their way.

What to Expect

As a client, you can expect to be met with respect and compassion for what you’re going through. Seeking change can feel like a big task, but you don’t have to navigate it alone.

I bring a warm, relational approach to understanding the cycles, thought patterns, and dynamics that may be keeping you stuck. I’ll ask questions, offer new perspectives, and help you better understand the emotions underneath what’s happening.

Sessions with me have structure and direction. Using evidence-based approaches, we’ll slow down key moments, build greater understanding and empathy, and practice new ways of responding—helping you move from feeling stuck toward meaningful change.