Couples Counseling

From the outside, everything looks great. You’re both successful, outgoing, and have a great group of friends. What others don’t see is that you feel yourselves drifting apart. You and your partner feel trapped in a dance of disconnection. You feel like the magic of your love is fading away. You wonder how you and your partner can get out of this rut. Maybe you hate how angry you get at each other and wish you could figure out how to handle disagreements better. You feel alone in your relationship. You may even be wondering if separation in the only answer- It isn’t.

If any of this sounds familiar, you are among the couples that come to Mount Vernon Family Therapy for support. Whether your difficulties stem from fertility issues, divorce, an affair, loss or trauma, financial problems, a new marriage, the birth of a baby, an empty nest, retirement, or something else we can help.

The benefits of couples counseling are far-reaching and can lead to a more fulfilling partnership. Couples therapy provides a safe space and a sounding board to restore connection, rebuild trust, and increase intimacy.

Mount Vernon Family Therapy helps couples in any type of relationship. Our therapists work with couples in all stages of their relationship. MVFT therapists have advanced training in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), which has been shown to help couples 70 to 80% of the time. EFT is based on clear, explicit, research-based conceptualizations of individual growth, relationship distress, and adult love. It is a collaborative and respectful approach with specific strategies and interventions.

Please know that you can heal your relationship and feel safe, close, and more loving again. With new knowledge and tools, you can make positive, lasting changes in your life together. Our therapists see clients in person in Alexandria, VA and virtually via Telehealth.

What to expect

Your therapist will meet with you as a couple first to hear your concerns and develop therapeutic goals.  After one or two sessions, each of you will meet with your therapist individually.  Over the course of therapy your therapist will focus on relationship strengths and interaction patterns that both help and hinder emotional intimacy. As a couple you will identify your positive and negative interaction cycles, and more importantly, you will be able to get unstuck when emotional connection breaks down.  You will learn to create a safe emotional space for each other and communicate in a way that fosters repair and healing in the relationship.

For more information about couples counseling click here.  

Creating Connection Couples Workshop

Do you find yourself wishing for a deeper connection with your partner, but you are hesitant to do couples counseling? Find out if this proven program for couples, based on Sue Johnson’s Hold Me Tight program, may be right for you. This time-limited workshop is held over the course of several sessions. In each session, the co-facilitators provide skills training and lead discussions and demonstrations. During break out sessions, each couple has an opportunity for private conversation and practice under the guidance of a facilitator. Between sessions, couples practice observing their relational patterns in real life. Over the course of the workshop, couples learn to understand each other better, and therefore, respond to each other in ways that feel supportive and beneficial. One participant said the experience “felt therapeutic but not like therapy, and the balance felt just right.”