Goli Bellinger

Goli Bellinger is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who works with couples and individuals experiencing relational or marital difficulties.

She is particularly skilled in intervening during a crisis to stabilize major conflicts. She is a specialist in Relationship Enhancement©, a psycho-educational model that is based on empathy, validation, and structured dialogue.  She has received training from several of the leading masters in the field of couples therapy and marriage education.  In addition to holding a postgraduate certificate in trauma from Harvard University, she has considerable expertise in working with diverse immigrant populations and intercultural relationships.  She aims to help individuals become more at ease and effective in their relationships.

INTRODUCTION

Are you tired of having the same interpersonal conflicts over and over again?  Do you wish you could say things that would be understood and appreciated, without negative consequences?  I help people troubleshoot conflicts and teach how to work towards meaningful and realistic goals that identify and address both your and your partner’s core concerns.  I will help you better understand your loved ones, including further valuing yourself. I know how to see through the blinders that conflict creates and believe that working through conflicts is the key to establishing and building mutually satisfying long-term relationships.

BIOGRAPHY

I have several publications on the Relationship Enhancement model, an evidenced-based model which systematically guides couples to connect and manage conflict in spite of significant differences.  I’ve been an innovator in this field by adapting western constructs of communication and problem solving and applying them to emotionally charged situations across cultures and languages.  

I’ve had extensive training in working with couples directly from the leaders in the field, most significantly through Guerney’s Institute for the Development of Emotional and Life Skills (IDEALS) and the National Institute for Relationship Enhancement (NIRE), The Gottman Institute, and Steven Stosney’s Compassion Power Bootcamp.  I also serve as a board member of IDEALS/ NIRE. In 2012, I earned a post-graduate certificate in trauma and recovery from the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma.  

As a mental health specialist, I have worked in multiple settings, from psychotherapy to program development to federal administration.  I am a clinical social work adjunct instructor at the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Social Work.  I instruct on intercultural conflict and serving first and second generation immigrants through two different graduate courses that I created for the University.  I also serve as an expert witness and provide forensic testimony for individuals seeking immigration relief.

My Specialties, Areas, and Interests

Relationships

• Improving communication and problem solving ability
• Managing and diffusing conflict strategies 
• Navigating family conflict and expectations
• Learning and managing cross-cultural conflicts
• Negotiating traditional gender roles to fit your modern lifestyle
• Providing premarital counseling and marriage education
• Dealing with and repairing from infidelity
• Couples in crisis and considering separation
• Improving intimacy

Mental Well-Being

• Depression
• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Post-trauma stress
• Stress management

Populations

• Intercultural and interracial relationships
• Gay, Lesbian or Transgender relationships
• Individuals facing illness, disability, and/or chronic health conditions
• Adults seeking family therapy with parents or siblings
• Individuals needing therapy through interpreters, or Farsi speakers

Important Life Experiences

I am Persian American and came to the United States at the age of seven.  I grew up in an environment with very little diversity, so as soon as I became a social worker, I moved to Washington, DC.  Over the past ten years, I have grown significantly through marriage with my American husband.  We both continue to learn from one another and try to embrace the richness that our combined cultures and vastly different communication styles bring.  I have traveled extensively around the world, from Mexico and South America, through Europe, to the Middle East and throughout the Far East.  My travels have further taught me how to adjust with ease in diverse circumstances, quickly identify solutions, and mitigate crises.

Contact me for a free phone consultation so that we can talk about how we might be able to work together. I look forward to talking with you.