Relational Models of Care
Healing through Connection, Safety, and Understanding
At Brickel and Associates, LLC, we believe that healing happens through relationships. We are born in relationship, can be most wounded in relationship, and can be healed in relationship. Our relational models of care are trauma-informed, attachment-based, and guided by neuroscience — helping individuals, couples, and families build safety, connection, and resilience.
What Are Relational Models of Care?
Relational models of care recognize that connection and safety are at the heart of healing. Whether within the therapeutic relationship, between partners, or among family members, the goal is to create secure emotional bonds that allow repair and growth. At Brickel and Associates, our clinicians integrate multiple research-based, trauma-informed approaches, including:
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) – rooted in attachment theory and focused on emotional safety and secure connection.
Imago Relationship Therapy – helping partners empathically understand each other’s experiences and heal childhood wounds.
The Gottman Method – improving communication, trust, and repair through research-based strategies.
PACT (Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy) – blending neuroscience and attachment to build secure-functioning relationships.
Developmental Couple Therapy for Complex Trauma (DCTCT) – supporting couples in understanding and healing from the lasting effects of early trauma..
These models guide our team to support couples, families, and individuals to move beyond survival patterns and into relationships grounded in empathy, regulation, and trust.
Why Safety & Regulation Come First
In trauma-informed relational care, safety always comes first. When the nervous system is dysregulated, empathy and connection are out of reach.
Therapy focuses on helping partners stay within their “window of tolerance” — the emotional range where they can think and feel simultaneously. This allows space for listening, understanding, and healing without re-traumatization.
Relational Healing
When Couples Seek Therapy
Couples often reach out when they feel dysregulated, disconnected, or stuck. They may be arguing or fighting because something painful has happened — an affair, substance use, betrayal, or recurring unresolved conflict.
They’ve reached a point of frustration or anger that feels impassable. Yet, beneath that pain is hope — a desire to understand, reconnect, and heal together.
Our therapists help couples slow down, regulate, and rebuild safety before exploring deeper issues. Through compassion and attunement, partners learn to communicate, repair, and strengthen their emotional bond.
Healing Across Life Stages
Relational care extends beyond couple’s therapy. Our clinicians also support parents, children, and families in building connection and emotional well-being.
For example, our work with postpartum parents helps new mothers and families navigate the challenges of early parenthood with compassion, attachment awareness, and trauma-informed support.
When relationships are nurtured with safety and understanding, they become powerful spaces for healing — at every stage of life.
Healing Relationships After Trauma
Trauma can make connection feel unsafe or impossible. It can lead to patterns of withdrawal, mistrust, or emotional distance. Yet, recovery happens through safe, supportive relationships.
Through our trauma-informed relational care, clients learn to:
- Recognize how trauma responses affect relationships
- Develop tools for co-regulation and communication
- Build compassion for themselves and their partners
- Reconnect with trust, empathy, and presence
Explore more about Healing Relationships After Trauma › and Trauma Survivor Relationships ›
Our Relational Philosophy
At Brickel and Associates, we believe:
- Healing happens in the context of safe relationships
- Every survival strategy makes sense given your history
- Curiosity and compassion create change
- Regulation and connection lead to resilience
We hold space for hope and growth — helping clients move from surviving to thriving through connection.
More Resources
Still have questions about Relational Models of Care. Contact us to learn how we can help. Some articles with a greater focus on Relational Therapy include: