COUPLES COUNSELING IN KANSAS CITY
You keep having the same fight, no matter how hard you try…
You’ve talked about it a hundred times. Maybe a thousand.
One of you pursues. The other shuts down. Small disagreements turn into exhausting arguments. Resentment builds. Repair attempts fail. And somewhere along the way, the relationship starts feeling more like co-managing stress than actually loving each other.
You may still care deeply about one another. But lately, you feel more like roommates, coworkers, or adversaries than partners.
If that sounds familiar, you are not alone.
Couples therapy is designed to help you break painful relational cycles, rebuild emotional connection, and create a healthier, more honest partnership — without endless “processing” that never seems to change anything.
This practice is heavily informed by Relational Life Therapy (RLT).
RLT helps couples move beyond surface-level communication tools and into meaningful relational change.
Instead of simply teaching conflict-management techniques, RLT focuses on:
Breaking unhealthy relational patterns
Increasing accountability without shame
Building deeper intimacy and honesty
Moving out of power struggles
Developing relational mindfulness
Learning how to stay connected during conflict
The goal is not perfection. The goal is helping both partners become more skilled at repair, honesty, boundaries, vulnerability, and teamwork.
You know what you should do. So why doesn't it work?
Many couples come into therapy already knowing the basics. They know they should communicate better, listen more, and stay calm.
And yet, in real moments of stress, everything falls apart anyway.
The struggles are really from the deeper patterns underneath the conflict — the reactions, resentment, shame, control, withdrawal, defensiveness, and fear that hijack connection.
We focus on helping you understand and interrupt those patterns so that new ways of relating become possible.
What couples therapy looks like
This is not a space where one partner gets blamed while the other is validated. Nor is it a passive environment where you talk in circles for months without movement.
There is room for honesty, humor, challenge, compassion, and practical guidance.
Longer sessions allow enough time to move beyond surface-level check-ins and into meaningful therapeutic work without constantly feeling rushed.
Couples therapy sessions
50-minute sessions, $190 per session
90-minute sessions, $285 per session (best for couples)
Therapy available in-person and virtually for Kansas residents
Private pay only; I don’t work directly with insurance, but can give you a superbill
Virtual “coaching” is available for those outside of Kansas, same rates as above. The difference between coaching and therapy is primarily that coaching is short-term, does not include mental health diagnosis or treatment, and isn’t reimbursable via insurance or HSA.
Couples therapy is good whether you're in crisis or just want things to get better before it get worse.
You might be having the same argument on repeat, walking on eggshells, feeling more like roommates than partners, or recovering from a real breach of trust. Maybe you've tried the communication tools and they fall apart the second things get heated. Maybe you can't even name what's wrong… you just know something is off.
All of that belongs here.
In the early work, the focus is practical: slowing the cycle down, interrupting the same old patterns, and helping both of you actually feel heard — not just in theory, but in the room.
Over time, the work goes deeper. Most couples start to develop what's called Relational Mindfulness—the ability to stay aware of yourself and your partner even when you're activated. Instead of automatically reacting, blaming, shutting down, or escalating, you get better at responding with honesty, boundaries, accountability and some actual compassion.
That shift is what changes a relationship long-term.
You relationship doesn’t have to stay stuck in the same cycle.
Most couples wait too long before getting help. By the time they reach out, they are exhausted, discouraged, and uncertain whether real change is possible. But painful patterns can change.
With honesty, courage, accountability, and the right support, relationships can become more connected, collaborative, and emotionally safe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do we both have to attend couples therapy? Ideally, yes. Couples work is different in that it works with the relational system, and that means having both of you present if possible.
What if my partner won’t come to couples therapy? No worries. We can start with you by yourself. Even if your partner isn’t ready, we can begin to affect change with just one of you.
How long does therapy/coaching take? The honest answer is that it depends. Each couple’s dynamic is unique. However, my goal is to have you out of my office and back to living your life as soon as possible.
What’s the difference between couples and individual sessions? They are pretty much the same. The only difference is that when I work with an individual I only hear one perspective and all relationships inherently have two. Having both partners present helps me diagnose the relational pattern pretty quickly. You’ll enact your pattern even if you don’t mean to. 🙂 So, when working with an individual, I’m mainly helping them learn how to own their side of the street.