Areas of practice
Restore a sense of optimism and intimacy in your relationship.
“Everything feels hard. We never have sex and I feel alone even though we are together all the time. Where is the line of no return?”
Couples therapy is directed by Gottman principles, which is an evidenced based approach backed by 40+ years of research. Find your friendship with your partner and catch them doing something right. Begin to feel closer and more connected, while learning how to let the past be the past and reignite romance now and in the future.
Whether you are working independently or together as a couple, we will identify steps giving you and your partner direction to move from isolation, loneliness, or conflict toward a more satisfying relationship.
What Clients Say:
This process has been relationship altering for so many reasons. My husband and I had done years of couples therapy previously, but it always felt like we were learning how to resolve our fights, rather than prevent them. Through this process we have learned tools for communication that allow us to both feel heard, but also respect the other and their truth. I have never felt more comfortable and secure in my relationship than since we started with Kristen Hullinger, LCSW and the Gottman method. We have learned so much about ourselves, who we are together and how to exist with our differences. I have found so much comfort in the process and have been able to let go of my ego in order to be the best partner I can be for my husband. This therapy has allowed us space to have deep meaningful conversations, even outside of sessions, to explore our feelings and really understand why we are acting and responding the way we are. I'm so grateful that we have had this opportunity to grow and learn. It is truly the best thing we did for our marriage.
– CS
Be your own best friend.
“I feel like I never say the right thing and can’t let it go. It makes me feel anxious all the time.”
I approach individual counseling through a strengths based perspective and primarily use a systems approach along with Cognitive Behavioral (CBT) and Mindfulness tools. The system is you...the people and influences you bring from the past and who you have with you now. Mindfulness tools focus on a way of being in the world and nurturing a sense of being all right with who you are in these very confusing times. The process is collaborative and compassionate. Throughout the process I will provide concrete tools and help you set goals to review and provide direction over time.
The Process of Psychotherapy
working together
Reaching out to a Psychotherapist can be difficult but is a very hopeful step in the process of change. There is great value in participating in talk therapy and many scientific studies to back it up.
Whether in couples or individual psychotherapy sessions, we will address symptoms of anxiety, depression, and substance use that may be getting in your way of relationship success, personal ease and professional goals. It will take work. But I will be with you and we will come up with a plan.
Some examples of life experiences that often bring people to my office are:
Couples counseling, Parenting, Marital counseling
Discontent and malaise in a relationship
Substance use and affairs
Dissatisfaction with work and career stress
Anxiety, ‘racing belly’ and a brain that won’t ‘turn off’
Feelings of sadness
Communicating with others through difficult times or complicated situations
Siblings of addicts, the mentally ill, or from families with complex structures
Chronic pain and chronic illness...whether you are in pain or living with someone living with pain
The Fine Print
other information
Couples and Individuals
We work with adults (18yrs and older)
We do not accept insurance. Hullinger Therapy Group expects payment at the time of your appointment with cash, check, Venmo or major credit cards.
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a private practice in Hoboken, NJ. I began my work as an undergraduate earning a BSW from University of Oklahoma. After doing case work in Pennsylvania and NJ, I earned my MSW in Clinical Social Work from Fordham University in New York in 1994. As a senior clinician, I continued my studies in a supervised practice with Youdin Institute for Psychotherapy in Matawan, NJ.
As one of the select few Certified Gottman Couples Therapists, your choice to work with me will benefit from the strength of 40 years of Gottman research, the structure of the process, and the safe environment necessary to move through gridlocked issues that create a negative perspective in a partnership.
I have been profoundly influenced by my yoga practice. I firmly believe in meditation and other mindfulness practices and regularly combine them with use of cognitive behavioral tools to create new, friendlier ways to process information and heal.
Looking forward to meeting you.
Contact
Phone: 201-499-0836
Email:
khullingerLCSW@gmail.com
Address:
129 Washington St
#101 LL
Hoboken, NJ 07030