Brittany Orzola, LISW/LCSW

I work with what happens between you.

In couples therapy, I treat the relationship as the client. That means I am not taking sides or trying to prove which person is the problem. I am listening for the pattern, the attachment dance that both partners can get pulled into, often without meaning to.

I believe all couples have a capacity for growth and connection when both people want it. My role is to help you understand what is happening beneath your reactions and support both of you in building the skills to respond differently.

My approach is active and integrative

I draw from CBT, DBT, IFS-informed work, psychodynamic theory, attachment theory, and the Gottman Method. Together, we may explore thoughts and beliefs, emotional intensity, regulation skills, protective parts, earlier attachment wounds, the Four Horsemen, and the ways you reach for or move away from each other.

We will also practice. Active listening, empathy, and clear communication can feel like learning a second language. It is normal for that to take time. Each session is a place to try, notice, adjust, and build on what is beginning to work.

Professional experience

My path into clinical social work began in correctional facilities, where I worked with adult inmates and later with adjudicated juveniles while completing school online. I then worked in the homes of families and refugees, helping people find resources, establish goals, and build lives that reflected what they wanted to experience.

I earned an associate degree in human services, a bachelor's degree in psychology, and a Master of Social Work from Walden University in 2022. During my two-year internship process, I worked in an inpatient psychiatric facility, where I learned to recognize and understand psychosis, personality disorders, anxiety and depressive disorders, substance-related disorders, adjustment disorders, and a range of treatment approaches. I also gained group-therapy experience.

I later interned in community mental health, where long hours, full caseloads, and underpaid staff gave me a close view of systemic challenges in mental health care and the ways they affect individual therapy, families, and surrounding support systems. I assisted with STEPPS groups and deepened my experience with DBT skills training.

After graduation, I worked in group practice, where I began working with couples, studying Gottman-informed methods, and learning play-therapy approaches. In private practice, I have worked with people carrying significant trauma histories, people experiencing low income or homelessness, and queer and trans communities.

Through my personal and professional growth, I have come to believe deeply in couples, love, and communication. No matter a relationship's past, growth is possible when two people are willing to show up with accountability, vulnerability, and a commitment to the work. I am also a mom and understand the parenting skills, pressures, and relationship struggles that can come with raising a family.