Mara Alverson, LMFT

Mara Alverson, LMFT Research studies find that 70-75% of couples who have completed EFT move from distress to recovery and approximately 90% show significant improvements.

Couples & Individual Therapy in Santa Cruz
Supporting a lifelong journey of growth as an individual and as a couple
Serving Aptos, Capitola, Watsonville & nearby communities. Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) was developed by Dr. Sue Johnson, who combined the latest research about human bonding with leading edge discoveries about the neurobiological roots of behavior. This kind of scientifically validated success was previously unheard of in the field of couples therapy.
​
In short, we now know that partners must feel safe and loved in order to bond closely with each other, and that old patterns of distress and distancing that we bring with us from our childhoods and our past relationships can be healed when we learn to share deeply and honestly with each other in an environment of safety. This is detailed, in-depth training in becoming emotionally available to yourself and to your partner which requires dedication and courage and offers, in return, the opportunity to feel a deeper level of intimacy with your partner than you ever imagined.

When tension erupts in a relationship, it rarely starts with what it looks like on the surface.The argument about dishes...
02/26/2026

When tension erupts in a relationship, it rarely starts with what it looks like on the surface.

The argument about dishes… money… tone of voice…

Often underneath is something much more vulnerable.

I wrote a new piece about what’s really happening when conflict escalates — and how couples can interrupt the cycle before it damages connection.

If this sounds familiar, you may find it helpful.

https://happypassionatemarriage.com/when-tension-erupts-in-your-relationship/

— Mara Alverson, LMFT
Couples & Individual Therapy | Santa Cruz

After Valentine’s Day passes, many people find themselves reflecting.Some want to feel closer in their relationship.Some...
02/16/2026

After Valentine’s Day passes, many people find themselves reflecting.
Some want to feel closer in their relationship.

Some are navigating a life transition.

Some are simply asking deeper questions about who they are and what they want next.

Therapy can be a place to slow down, understand patterns, and grow — as a person and as a partner.

I’m currently welcoming couples and individuals in Santa Cruz and nearby communities.

Mara Alverson, LMFT
Couples & Individual Therapy — Santa Cruz
Serving Aptos, Capitola, Watsonville & surrounding areas

Explore therapy for yourself or your relationship:

SantaCruzCounseling.com

02/14/2026

However you spend Valentine’s Day — partnered, single, with family, or quietly on your own —
you’re allowed to feel exactly what you feel.

For some it brings closeness.
For others it brings reflection, longing, or distance.

All of it is part of being human

This week I was interviewed in Good Times Weekly about what children most need to hear about love — especially around Va...
02/11/2026

This week I was interviewed in Good Times Weekly about what children most need to hear about love — especially around Valentine’s Day.

Kids don’t need to earn love by being “good,” sharing perfectly, or getting things right.

They need to know they are loved simply because they exist.

Valentine’s cards get crumpled. Candy disappears. Glitter stays forever.
But if the day works the way we hope, one message remains:
love is not something you win — it’s something you start with.

Valentine’s Day can bring up many different feelings about relationships — appreciation, longing, closeness, distance, a...
02/11/2026

Valentine’s Day can bring up many different feelings about relationships — appreciation, longing, closeness, distance, and everything in between.

Most couples I meet aren’t looking for a perfect relationship. They’re looking for a way to feel more understood, to reconnect, and to find their way back to each other when things feel off.

Relationships change in small moments — a pause, a different conversation, a willingness to listen with fresh ears.

I shared a few reflections on this here: https://happypassionatemarriage.com/valentines-day-more-than-a-card-or-a-reservation/

Valentine’s Day tends to spotlight love and connection — but most relationships don’t live in the highlight reel.There a...
02/05/2026

Valentine’s Day tends to spotlight love and connection — but most relationships don’t live in the highlight reel.

There are moments of closeness… and moments of distance.
Times we feel understood… and times we miss each other completely.

What I see again and again is that relationships grow not from perfection, but from small turns toward each other — a conversation, a pause, a willingness to listen differently.

I shared some thoughts about this in a recent piece if you’d like to read more: https://happypassionatemarriage.com/valentines-day-more-than-a-card-or-a-reservation/

Valentine’s Day isn’t always hearts and roses.For many couples, it can stir up distance, longing, or old hurts.In my lat...
02/04/2026

Valentine’s Day isn’t always hearts and roses.

For many couples, it can stir up distance, longing, or old hurts.

In my latest blog, I write about how to stay emotionally connected — even when this day is hard.

If you’d like to read more: Valentine’s Day isn’t always hearts and roses.

For many couples, it can stir up distance, longing, or old hurts.

In my latest blog, I write about how to stay emotionally connected — even when this day is hard.

If you’d like to read more:

https://happypassionatemarriage.com/valentines-day-more-than-a-card-or-a-reservation

Hi, Neighbors,I'm a therapist who works with folk navigating anxiety, trauma, and the ripple effects of growing up in em...
01/16/2026

Hi, Neighbors,

I'm a therapist who works with folk navigating anxiety, trauma, and the ripple effects of growing up in emotionally neglectful or chaotic homes.

Right now, I have some space in my schedule for new clients. If you or someone you love is feeling stuck, burned out, or just tired of holding it all together alone - I want you to know support is available.

I specialize in helping people heal at the root-not just manage symptoms, but actually care for what's underneath. My approach blends talk therapy with somatic (body-based) work to help clients feel safer in their bodies, more connected to themselves, and more at ease in their relationships.

I see adults across California via telehealth and I also offer in-person sessions at my cozy office here in Santa Cruz.

If you've been putting therapy off or haven't felt ready until now, I offer a no-cost 15-minute phone consult to see if we're a good fit. No pressure-just a conversation. And if you know someone who might need this, I'd be grateful if you shared this with them.

Warmly,

Mara Alverson, LMFT
831-588-3013
SantaCruzCounseling.com
HappyPassionateMarriage.com

In the Depths of WinterIn the depths of winter, we naturally slow down and turn inward. Along the coast here in Santa Cr...
01/06/2026

In the Depths of Winter
In the depths of winter, we naturally slow down and turn inward. Along the coast here in Santa Cruz, the quieter season invites reflection—on what has weathered, what has endured, and what longs for renewal. We look back on the year behind us and begin to sense what we hope to create in the year ahead.
If a closer, more secure relationship is on your wish list, I invite you to consider the intentional work of rebuilding connection. In Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), we understand that the need for safe, loving attachment is not a preference—it is a fundamental human need. When that bond feels threatened, both partners suffer.
Beginning couples therapy is often accompanied by both hope and apprehension. Hope arises from the deep longing to feel emotionally safe, seen, and connected again. Apprehension is understandable, as couples usually arrive carrying years of hurt, misunderstanding, and unsuccessful attempts to repair the relationship on their own. At this point, one or both partners may feel discouraged, guarded, or uncertain about the future, with a foot both in and out of the relationship.
Couples therapy is often sought when the negative cycle feels entrenched and exhausting. EFT offers a clear, research-supported path forward. Rather than focusing on blame or surface-level solutions, EFT helps couples identify the underlying emotional patterns that keep them stuck and gently reshapes those interactions into moments of safety and responsiveness.
Here is the hopeful truth: when partners are supported in expressing their deeper emotions—longings, fears, vulnerabilities, and unmet attachment needs—change becomes possible. In a setting of safety and compassion, old wounds can be acknowledged, heartfelt repair can occur, and new emotional experiences can take root. Over time, couples can move from disconnection and distress toward a more secure, resilient, and loving bond—one that feels steady enough to weather all seasons.
If you are feeling the pull toward change, even with uncertainty, that may be enough to begin. I welcome you to reach out for a no-fee 15-minute consultation to explore whether EFT couples therapy feels like a good fit. 831-588-3013

11/14/2025

Welcome to my office in Autumn, the time for gratitude and for grieving. A warm fire welcomes and honors all feelings here. That's how we come to love and accept ourselves and each other. May this be a season of deepening, of feeling all of our feelings, so that we may experience life fully.

Mirabai was a 16th century Rajasthani princess, a composer of devotional songs and a mystic who fought against conventio...
11/13/2025

Mirabai was a 16th century Rajasthani princess, a composer of devotional songs and a mystic who fought against convention to give voice to her spiritual yearnings. My favorite of her poems contains the words:

"I have felt the swaying of the elephant's shoulders;
and now you want me to climb on a jackass?
Try to be serious. “

This I read as a testament to her dedication to searching for and living a life of meaning and fulfillment in spite of many attempts to thwart her mission. She is a symbol of dedication, perseverance and clarity about what she saw as really important in life.

Address

133 Towne Terrace
Santa Cruz, CA
95060

Telephone

+18315883013

Website

https://SantaCruzCounseling.com/

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Stop Arguing and Start Loving

Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) was developed by Dr. Sue Johnson, who combined the latest research about human bonding with leading edge discoveries about the neurobiological roots of behavior. Research studies find that 70-75% of couples who have completed EFT move from distress to recovery and approximately 90% show significant improvements. This kind of scientifically validated success was previously unheard of in the field of couples therapy. ​ In short, we now know that partners must feel safe and loved in order to bond closely with each other, and that old patterns of distress and distancing that we bring with us from our childhoods and our past relationships can be healed when we learn to share deeply and honestly with each other in an environment of safety. This is detailed, in-depth training in becoming emotionally available to yourself and to your partner which requires dedication and courage and offers, in return, the opportunity to feel a deeper level of intimacy with your partner than you ever imagined.