Lia Anisgard, MFT

Hi, 

Thank you for visiting my web page. I have been a licensed therapist since 1982. I bring honesty, compassion and professionalism, along with 25+ years professional experience to my practice. I work mostly with adults dealing with life transitions, depression, and relationship issues. I have a particular interest in working with couples. My goal is to empower my clients to develop healthy, satisfying lives and relationships and a deep belief in their self worth. It is my sincere conviction that each of us can make a positive contribution to our society and our world by developing healthy relationships with ourselves and others. I recently moved my practice from San Jose, CA to San Luis Obispo, CA. Feel free to contact me to ask me any questions about my work.

Relationship Tip

Disagreements:  It is not how often couples agree or disagree that predicts whether their relationships will last. It is how they handle conflict that matters. Avoid what John Gottman calls the "four horsemen of apocalypse": criticism, contempt, defense and withdrawal. Gottman has found that these 4 destructive ways of dealing with conflict are predictors of divorce. Conflict is inevitable - how you handle conflict is within your control. Remember this is the person you loved and respected one minute ago, so don't treat them as your mortal enemy now. If you work hard to calm yourself, you open the door to understanding your partner's perspective on the issue and to resolving the disagreement.