Suzanna M.
Hillegass RN. LCSW offers
marriage counseling, couples relationship therapy using the Imago
approach, as well as individual psychotherapy. Offices are in the
Washington DC area in Northern Virginia.
Suzanna is a
licensed clinical social
worker specializing in helping couples and individuals develop more
conscious
loving relationships. She draws on a variety of experiences including
anger and stress
management, and is a Certified Imago Relationship Therapist. She is a
member of AASECT-the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors,
and Therapists. Married 40 years,
Suzanna and husband, Tom, use the Imago process to strengthen and
deepen their own relationship.
Please
contact me below. My office is
in Alexandria, VA. I offer 90 minute sessions for couples at $220 per
couple and 50 minute sessions for individuals at $110. If you need a
reduced rate, please mention that when you call.
Suzanna Hillegass RN, LCSW
Alexandria, VA
Phone: 703-256-6513
Email: sh@shillegass.com
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Would you
like to share more openly with
your partner? Are you ready to learn more about yourself and your part
in difficult moments in your relationship? Imago Relationship Therapy
may be helpful and enlightening to you. 
What
does it mean to be intimate? Intimacy is feeling safe to share your
thoughts
and feelings with another and safe to be hugged and held. When you feel
safe and
understood you open more of your inner life with its needs and
disappointments to your
partner. He or she may feel more inclined to give you those things you
say you want. That creates a loving relationship. 
We all want to be intimate - emotionally open and physically close - as a part of our human heritage. If there is any doubt this is true, Dr. Dean Ornish has written a new book, "Love and Survival", that documents extensive research indicating that our feelings of love and intimacy are powerful determinants of our health, longevity and happiness. Unfortunately, because of our experiences, intimacy often takes on an expectation of danger - the danger of being shamed, or engulfed, or used and abandoned. We may lose our courage, opting to give up acknowledging our need for connection or electing to give up awareness of our own thoughts and wants. Most everyone has had some or all of these experiences in the process of becoming socialized in our culture.
One
of the things that separate us humans from the other species is our
adaptability. As children we adapt in ways that seemed most beneficial
and protective to us. Today
those same protective adaptations may be keeping us from a loving
relationship with
ourselves and others. Time to adapt again! 
We often chalk up our failures to bad luck, or bad choices of partners, or a lack of natural ability. Mostly it is bad habits and a failure to rethink the territory. Just like other skills, practice and new knowledge about relationships can change the outcome. Picasso had the aptitude but it took practice and courage and drawing lessons to become a great artist.
When
I work with couples, I help them develop an intentional dialogue
process. It is an
opportunity to learn more about the experience of the other person and
at the same time to stay
connected. That is a stretch for most of us, but with practice each of
us can share more of our
real thoughts and feelings.