Specialised Couples Therapy—Wherever You Live
Finding a couples therapist is not always difficult.
Finding one whose experience and approach fit what is happening in your relationship can be much harder.
You may live in an area where there are few therapists specializing in couples work. You may be looking specifically for Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT). Or your relationship may involve betrayal, grief, reproductive trauma, cultural differences, or longstanding patterns that you want to address with an experienced couples therapist.
Through PSYPACT, I provide online couples therapy to eligible clients in participating states, allowing couples to access specialized care without living near my physical practice.
I am a licensed psychologist and Certified Emotionally Focused Couples Therapist with nearly 30 years of clinical experience working with couples, relationships, attachment, grief, and trauma.
Online couples therapy in Texas, New York, and eligible PSYPACT states
When You Know Something Between You Needs to Change
You may still love each other deeply.
But lately, being together may feel harder than it used to.
Perhaps you keep having the same arguments. One partner pushes to talk while the other becomes quiet or pulls away. Small disagreements escalate quickly, or important conversations never seem to happen at all.
Maybe you are no longer fighting very much.
Instead, you have simply become distant.
You manage work, children, family, and everyday responsibilities, but the emotional or physical connection between you has gradually disappeared.
Or perhaps something specific happened—a betrayal, loss, trauma, or major transition—and neither of you knows how to find your way back from it.
Couples therapy can provide a place to understand what has happened between you and begin changing the patterns that keep pulling you apart.
Why Couples Seek Online Therapy With Me
I work with couples experiencing:
- Recurring conflict and communication difficulties
- Emotional distance and loneliness
- Betrayal, infidelity, and loss of trust
- Loss of intimacy or sexual connection
- Grief and significant loss
- Reproductive trauma and pregnancy loss
- Parenting and family stress
- Cultural and family-of-origin differences
- Midlife and empty nest transitions
- Major life changes
- Questions about whether to remain together
- Longstanding relationship distress
Some couples seek me out because they are specifically looking for an experienced Emotionally Focused Couples Therapist.
Others are looking for a psychologist who understands how relationship distress can intersect with grief, trauma, reproductive experiences, cultural differences, or major life transitions.
You do not need to know exactly what kind of therapy you need before contacting me.
Often, couples simply know:
What we are doing isn’t working anymore.
That is enough of a place to begin.
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy Online
My work with couples is grounded primarily in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT).
EFT is an attachment-based approach that helps couples understand the emotional patterns underneath recurring conflict and disconnection.
Rather than focusing only on communication techniques, we look at what happens between you when the relationship begins to feel threatened.
One partner may become angry, critical, or demanding.
The other may defend, become quiet, or withdraw.
Neither partner necessarily intends to create distance.
Yet over time, these protective responses can develop into a cycle that leaves both people feeling alone.
In therapy, I help you recognize and slow down this cycle so that you can begin understanding what is happening underneath it and find different ways of reaching for and responding to each other.
For more about the approach and current research supporting EFT:
LEARN MORE ABOUT EMOTIONALLY FOCUSED COUPLES THERAPY
Can Couples Therapy Really Work Online?
Couples sometimes wonder whether meaningful relationship work can happen through a screen.
Online therapy changes where we meet, but it does not change the central work of couples therapy.
I am not simply listening while the two of you describe your arguments.
My role is active.
I pay attention to what happens between you during the session—the moments when one partner becomes frustrated, the other withdraws, something vulnerable gets missed, or the familiar cycle begins to appear.
I help slow those moments down so that we can understand what is happening underneath them.
As therapy progresses, I help you communicate more directly with each other in the session and begin creating different emotional experiences together.
For many couples, being able to do this work from a private and familiar environment also makes regular therapy easier to maintain.
Online Therapy Can Make Specialized Care More Accessible
Where you live should not necessarily determine whether you can find a therapist with the specialization you are looking for.
In smaller communities or areas with fewer couples specialists, you may have limited options locally.
Online therapy can expand those options.
It can also be useful when:
- You have demanding or unpredictable work schedules
- One or both partners travel frequently
- Parenting makes additional travel difficult
- You live a significant distance from specialized services
- You prefer the privacy and convenience of meeting from home
- You are specifically seeking EFT couples therapy
- You want a therapist with experience in a particular relationship issue
The goal is not online therapy for the sake of convenience alone.
It is making it possible to find care that is a better fit for what you and your partner actually need.
When Trust Has Been Broken
Betrayal, infidelity, secrecy, or another significant relationship injury can fundamentally change how safe the relationship feels.
The injured partner may repeatedly return to what happened because they are trying to understand whether the relationship can be trusted again.
The other partner may feel ashamed, defensive, helpless, or desperate to move forward.
These responses can create another painful cycle on top of the original injury.
Couples therapy can provide a structured place to address what happened, understand its emotional impact, and explore whether trust and connection can be rebuilt.
Repair cannot be forced.
But when both partners are willing to engage in the process, it may become possible to understand the injury differently and begin creating greater emotional safety.
When Grief or Trauma Affects Your Relationship
Sometimes the relationship was not initially the problem.
Something happened.
A pregnancy loss.
A traumatic birth.
A serious diagnosis.
The death of someone you love.
A difficult reproductive decision.
A major family crisis.
Or another experience that changed your lives.
Partners often cope with these experiences differently.
One may need to talk while the other becomes quiet. One may want closeness while the other manages distress by staying busy or focusing on practical things.
Both may be hurting.
Neither may feel understood.
Over time, grief or trauma can become intertwined with the relationship itself.
My experience working with both couples and trauma allows us to address not only what happened, but also what has happened between you because of it.
LEARN MORE ABOUT REPRODUCTIVE TRAUMA THERAPY
How I Work With Couples
The early part of therapy is an assessment process.
We begin together, and I also meet individually with each partner. I want to understand your relationship history, important experiences, strengths, current stressors, and the patterns contributing to your difficulties.
Then we begin working directly with what happens between you.
My approach is active and collaborative.
I help you slow difficult interactions down, recognize recurring patterns, and understand the emotions and relationship needs underneath anger, criticism, defensiveness, or withdrawal.
As therapy progresses, we work toward creating different experiences with each other—not simply understanding why you have problems, but changing the way you respond when the relationship feels threatened.
The goal is not a relationship without disagreement. It is a relationship in which you are better able to find your way back to each other when disconnection happens.
LEARN MORE ABOUT COUPLES THERAPY
Couples Across Cultures
Online therapy also allows me to work with couples whose relationships cross cultures, countries, religions, languages, and family traditions.
Different expectations about marriage, emotional expression, independence, family involvement, parenting, gender roles, money, or sexuality can sometimes become sources of misunderstanding.
These differences do not necessarily create relationship problems.
But they matter when we are trying to understand what happens between you.
I have extensive experience working with clients from varied cultural backgrounds, including immigrants, intercultural and interfaith couples, and LGBTQ+ partners.
I do not assume that there is one correct way to be a couple. Our work takes into account the histories, identities, families, cultures, and values that each of you brings to the relationship.
What Is PSYPACT?
PSYPACT is an interstate agreement that allows eligible licensed psychologists with the appropriate authorization to provide telepsychology across participating jurisdictions.
This means you may be able to work with me online even if you do not live in Texas or New York.
Because PSYPACT participation can change, eligibility depends on where you are physically located at the time therapy is provided.
CHECK WHETHER YOUR STATE PARTICIPATES IN PSYPACT
If you are unsure whether I can work with you in your state, you are welcome to contact me before scheduling.
Is Online Couples Therapy Right for Us?
Online couples therapy works well for many couples, but privacy and the ability to participate without significant interruptions are important.
Ideally, you should have a private location where both partners can engage fully in the session.
Some couples participate together from the same location. In some circumstances, partners may need to join from different locations.
We can determine what arrangement is appropriate for your situation.
For couples who need more time than a standard session provides, I also offer extended sessions and couples therapy intensives, when clinically appropriate and permitted based on your location.
LEARN ABOUT COUPLES THERAPY INTENSIVES
Ready to Begin Online Couples Therapy?
You do not need to know exactly why your relationship became difficult before beginning therapy.
You may simply know that you are tired of having the same arguments, feeling alone, or watching the distance between you grow.
If you feel my approach may be a good fit for you and your partner, you are welcome to book an online couples therapy appointment directly.
If you would like to determine whether I can work with you in your state or have questions before scheduling, contact me for a brief consultation.