For Referring Professionals
Supporting the Couple Within the Family System
Specialized Couples Therapy for Parents Navigating a Child's Emotional, Behavioral, Developmental, or Mental Health Challenges
Thank you for your interest in connecting with my practice.
I'm Tascha Gaspar, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist providing online couples therapy throughout Massachusetts. My practice focuses on helping couples strengthen their relationships, navigate recurring patterns of conflict and disconnection, and develop a greater sense of emotional connection and partnership.
One area of particular interest in my work is supporting couples whose relationships have been affected by the demands of raising a child with emotional, behavioral, developmental, or mental health challenges.
I recognize that many of the families you serve are navigating complex circumstances, often with multiple professionals involved in their child's care. While significant attention is appropriately directed toward the child's needs, the relationship between parents can become strained or overlooked.
My work provides a dedicated therapeutic space for the couple relationship while respecting the important work already taking place within the child's treatment and support system. I welcome opportunities to connect with professionals whose work intersects with these families and to develop collaborative relationships that support the broader family system.
A Family-Systems Perspective Informed by Clinical Experience
Before establishing my private practice, I worked as an In-Home Family Therapist through Massachusetts' Children's Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI). This experience allowed me to work closely with families navigating significant emotional and behavioral challenges and provided a meaningful understanding of the complexities that can arise when a child requires additional support.
I recognize that these families may be navigating multiple treatment providers, educational systems, difficult parenting decisions, behavioral concerns, and significant emotional demands. I also recognize how these experiences can affect the relationship between the adults responsible for navigating them.
My background in family systems informs the way I approach couples therapy, particularly when a couple's relationship distress is closely connected to the broader challenges occurring within their family.
I bring an understanding of the larger family context while maintaining a clear therapeutic focus on the couple relationship.
When Might Couples Therapy Be Helpful for the Parents You Serve?
Professionals working with children and adolescents may recognize that the emotional and behavioral challenges affecting a child are also placing significant demands on the parents' relationship.
Parents may be highly engaged in their child's care while simultaneously experiencing increasing conflict, resentment, exhaustion, or emotional distance from one another.
Consider sharing my practice as a potential resource when parents are experiencing:
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Parenting polarization: Persistent disagreements about discipline, accommodations, expectations, boundaries, or how to respond to their child's needs.
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Caregiver stress and resentment: One or both partners feeling overwhelmed by the emotional, logistical, or practical demands of caring for their child.
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Conflict surrounding treatment decisions: Difficulty navigating recommendations related to medication, therapy, school placement, evaluations, or other aspects of their child's care.
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Communication difficulties: Repetitive arguments, criticism, defensiveness, withdrawal, or difficulty discussing parenting concerns without escalating conflict.
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Emotional disconnection: Parents feeling increasingly distant from one another as the child's needs become the central focus of family life.
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Changes in family roles: Unequal caregiving responsibilities, differences in parental involvement, or difficulty maintaining a sense of shared partnership.
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Relationship distress during family transitions: Increased strain associated with diagnostic evaluations, changes in educational placement, adolescence, treatment transitions, or other significant family events.
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Loss of the couple relationship: Parents describing themselves as functioning primarily as caregivers or household managers rather than connected romantic partners.
Couples therapy can offer parents an opportunity to address these relationship dynamics while continuing to support their child's individual needs.
The Child May Have a Treatment Team.
The Parents May Need Support for Their Relationship.
Many children and adolescents experiencing emotional, behavioral, developmental, or mental health challenges are supported by a network of professionals. Their care may involve psychologists, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, pediatricians, school teams, behavioral specialists, educational consultants, and other providers. These services can play an essential role in understanding and responding to the child's needs.
However, parents may have limited opportunities to address the impact these experiences are having on their own relationship.
My role is distinct from the child's treatment. I provide couples therapy focused on the relationship between the parents, including the ways chronic parenting stress, differing perspectives, caregiving demands, and family challenges may contribute to relationship distress. The goal is not to replace parent guidance, family therapy, behavioral consultation, or the child's existing treatment. Rather, my work focuses on helping the couple understand their relational patterns, navigate differences, strengthen their emotional connection, and develop a more supportive partnership.
When appropriate and with the necessary authorizations, I welcome thoughtful collaboration with other professionals involved in the family's care.
Referring a Couple to My Practice
I welcome referrals from psychologists, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, pediatricians, school psychologists, therapists, educational consultants, and other professionals working with children, adolescents, and families.
If you are working with a family in which the parents' relationship may benefit from additional support, you are welcome to share my practice information with them.
Prospective clients can contact me directly to schedule an initial consultation, during which we can discuss their concerns, what they hope to gain from couples therapy, and whether my services may be an appropriate fit.
Practice Information
Tascha Gaspar, LMFT
Online Couples Therapy Serving Massachusetts
774-704-2705
Payment: Out-of-Network, superbill provided monthly
For Prospective Clients
Schedule an Initial Consultation
For Professionals
Whether you conduct neuropsychological evaluations, provide child and adolescent therapy, work within a school system, or support families through other clinical or educational services, I would welcome the opportunity to learn more about your work. I believe that understanding the resources available to families and developing meaningful professional connections can help us better support the people we serve. If our work overlaps, I would be happy to connect for a virtual conversation to learn more about your practice and share more about mine.
To protect client confidentiality, please avoid including identifying clinical information about a family in an initial email unless appropriate authorization and a suitable communication method are in place.
I look forward to connecting with you.