Elena Kim
Elena Kim
She/Her/Hers
LICENSED MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST
678-487-6916
elena@thecouplescollege.com
https://www.drelenakim.com
Elena Kim is a licensed marriage and family therapist with a passion for helping couples create healthy and fulfilling lifelong partnerships. She views couples therapy as a journey of growth, both within ourselves and along with our partners.
Elena’s Marriage Journey
“Growing up, my parents’ marriage was not a good one. Although I was determined to have a better marriage than them, I continued the exact same behaviors that they did to my own husband – I too yelled at him, blamed him for our problems, and took small issues and blew them up into big fights – because it was the only thing I knew how to do. It was what my parents had modeled to me, and I didn’t know any different.
Through my professional training and personal experiences in my own therapy, I realized that having a happy relationship actually begins with me doing my own healing work. I had to reflect on how I was coming into the marriage without a model of what a healthy relationship looks like. I had to process how my parents’ dysfunctional relationship was affecting how I communicate with my husband. I had to become aware of how the pain from my childhood was causing me to project unconscious fears of how I thought he would be and desires of how he should be. I had to learn how to manage my own depression and anxiety so that I could break the cycle and not repeat the same intergenerational trauma.
I’ve spent the past 20+ years studying what makes a relationship work, and I realized that it actually begins with me doing my own work to heal and grow. I first need to be compassionate to my own trauma and shortcomings, and then be kind to his struggles and where he falls short. I need to meet him where he’s at and hold space for his feelings and thoughts. I need to get curious and listen without my judgment, bias, or agenda getting in the way.
In order for couples therapy as well as your relationship to be successful, you have to be willing to do both the inner work of healing of your own trauma as well as learn new ways to interact differently with your partner. The Couples College offers both private couples therapy so you can learn how to hold space for each other’s wounds and a relationship skills course so you can practice healthy communication. If you’re ready to begin the journey, please submit an inquiry below.”
Counseling Credentials:
- PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy, Purdue University
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Georgia
- Registered Out-of-State Telehealth Provider, Florida
- Registered Professional Counselor Telehealth Provider, South Carolina
- Emotionally Focused Therapy – Externship, Core Skills, and Supervision
- Gottman Method Couples Therapy – Levels 1 & 2
- The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work – Leader Training
- Relational Life Therapy – Levels 1 & 2
