Encino households tend to run full. Two careers, packed calendars, kids in three activities each, and a separation dropped on top of all of it. When parents split here, the hardest part is often not the big questions but the relentless small ones: who is doing the Tuesday pickup, whose week covers the dentist, how a last-minute work trip gets handled. Co-parenting therapy is where you build a system for that, so the logistics stop turning into standoffs.
I am a licensed marriage and family therapist with more than 20 years of experience, and I have worked with many busy parents who were stuck reacting to each other instead of planning with each other. The goal is not friendship with your ex. It is a parenting partnership that functions even when your relationship does not.
My office is in Agoura Hills, about 30 minutes from Encino on the 101 West. For parents whose schedules barely allow it, virtual sessions are available anywhere in California.
Encino, especially south of Ventura Boulevard, is a place where families know each other. Kids share campuses and teams, parents see the same faces along the boulevard and around Balboa Park and the Sepulveda Basin, and a separation rarely stays entirely private. Parents often tell me they worry about the drop-off line, about what other families have picked up on, and about how their children are managing socially. Those worries are legitimate and worth addressing directly.
The professional intensity of many Encino households adds a particular strain. Coordinating LAUSD calendars, navigating a sought-after placement like Lanai Road Elementary, fitting handoffs around demanding work schedules, and splitting holidays all require the two of you to communicate cleanly under time pressure. When that slips, children end up holding the gap. We use the sessions to get those logistics onto something reliable.
The work tends to focus on a few things. Communication that survives busy weeks instead of breaking down into terse messages. The logistics of two homes and two schedules, including who covers what and how changes get handled. Consistency across houses, so a child is not living under one set of rules Monday and a different set Thursday. And lowering the conflict your kids witness, which shapes their adjustment more than the separation itself.
I keep this distinct from couples therapy. We are not reopening the relationship or sorting out blame. We are working on the parenting partnership, the part that has to keep going regardless.
We start by pinpointing the exchanges that reliably go wrong and address them one at a time. For some parents the fix is a clear written agreement about communication and scheduling; for others it is making room for the resentment so it stops contaminating every handoff. We set the pace to fit your situation. More on my approach is on my co-parenting therapy page.
Children are never in these sessions, but they are the ones who benefit most. Kids notice the tension behind a clipped call or an offhand remark. When that eases, the change tends to surface quickly in how they sleep, how they behave, and how settled they feel in both homes.
It helps with the practical side of raising children from two homes: clearer communication, a schedule that works between households, consistent rules, and less conflict overall. Sessions are for the adults and organized around the situations that cause you the most friction, with your children's stability as the goal.
My Agoura Hills office is about 30 minutes from Encino on the 101 West and sits just off the freeway. For parents with packed schedules, secure video sessions are available throughout California, so therapy does not have to compete with an already full week.
Yes. School decisions are one of the most common conflicts I see among Encino parents, whether the question is a sought-after LAUSD placement like Lanai Road Elementary, a private option, or expectations around academics. We build a way for the two of you to decide together instead of through a standoff.
Yes. Joint sessions are often quickest, but individual work is genuinely useful. You can only control your own responses, boundaries, and communication, and steadying those frequently changes the overall dynamic even when the other parent is not in the room.
No. There is no agenda about the romantic relationship or reconciliation. We work strictly on how you function as parents, which is what lets both people engage without feeling pushed toward an outcome they did not choose.
Children feel the conflict between their parents whether or not it is spoken. When the two of you communicate better and argue less, your kids carry less of it, and that relief usually shows up fast in their mood and behavior.
My office is in Agoura Hills, CA 91301, just off the 101. I see co-parents in person from Encino and the surrounding communities, including Tarzana, CA, Sherman Oaks, CA, and Woodland Hills, CA. Virtual sessions are available to parents anywhere in California.
If the constant coordination with your co-parent has worn you down, it does not have to stay this way. Schedule a complimentary phone consultation and we can talk through a workable next step.
Offering Both Virtual And in person Sessions