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Painting found in the office of couples therapist Robert Solley, Ph.D. on Valencia Street shows people on horseback on a hillside overlooking the San Francisco Bay

Why Choose Dr. Solley for Your Couples Therapy?

Most therapists are friendly and caring. Many therapists offer marriage counseling (also known as couples therapy or couples counseling).  However, not so many therapists have had hundreds of hours of training in couples therapy, and thousands of hours of couples experience.

Couples counseling is a specialty, requiring special training and experience.

I am a staff therapist with the Couples Institute in Menlo Park-–one of the leading couples therapy programs in the country. My interest in family systems and couples therapy goes all the way back to my earliest internship at a family therapy center prior to graduate school over 30 years ago. From almost the same time I have also been deeply influenced by the research and work of John Gottman, and have since done years of training in Sue Johnson’s Emotionally Focused Therapy.  I have also studied with and follow a number of other master therapists in the field such as Dan Wile, Terry Real, and Stan Tatkin, to name a few.  I keep up on research and have many different tools to offer and ways of helping you improve your relationship.

Clients describe me as fair, empathic, steady, collaborative, grounded, and a very focused listener. One of the most frequent complaints from couples who have not had good experiences with other therapists is that the therapist let them continue their destructive negative interactions. If you as a couple are engaging in destructive or unproductive patterns, I will be firm and directive to help you build more effective skills. If you are working well with principles and skills that you are learning, or if you need more room to feel or reflect, I will pull back and give you more space to do those things.

It is one of my highest priorities to make sure you are getting the best experience possible out of therapy and I take active steps to monitor my work with you and make corrections on an ongoing basis.  I especially enjoy working with premarital or early-relationship couples, tech-people, and artists.  But if you’re not in one of those groups please call me anyway as I love working with all kinds of couples, including same-sex partners.

Meet Psychologist Dr. Robert Solley

Dr. Robert Solley (shown here) helps couples save their marriages and improve their relationships.

Dr. Robert Solley is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in couples and individual adult therapy in San Francisco. Earning his PhD from the California School of Professional Psychology in Berkeley, Dr. Solley has been licensed for over 30 years.

 

He has trained and worked in such diverse settings as Children's Hospital in Oakland, California-Pacific Medical Center

in San Francisco, and is a Staff Therapist with the Couples Institute in Menlo Park.

 

Dr. Solley has taught masters and doctoral students as an adjunct faculty member at Alliant University, The Wright Institute, and the University of San Francisco. He is accepting new couples and adult individuals in his private practice on Valencia Street in San Francisco’s Mission District.

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