Couples Therapy
Couples therapy is a space for partners to reconnect, understand each other more deeply, and work through challenges as a team. To break unhelpful patterns, strengthen communication, and nurture a more secure, loving bond.
Is Your Relationship Struggling?
Relationships can be incredibly challenging. Most of us aren’t taught how to navigate relationship stressors. Without clear guidance or healthy role models, it's easy to fall into patterns that create distance instead of closeness. Even with all the tools, every relationship has its ups and downs. Together, you and your partner can experience external stress from work, pressure from families, fertility difficulties, parenting challenges, grief and so much more. Whether you're facing communication issues, unresolved conflict, or drifting apart emotionally, couples therapy can help. At Empowered Mind, we provide a safe, supportive space for partners to explore challenges, deepen understanding, and strengthen their bond.
Are you Finding that You and Your Partner Are Experiencing?
Arguing more often or over small things
Feeling distant, like roommates instead of partners
Struggling with exhaustion, resentment, or feeling unseen
Disagreeing on parenting styles or household responsibilities
Missing emotional or physical intimacy
Navigating a major life change
Difficulty with chronic illness
Issues with balancing work-life balance due to stressful/high pressure careers
Fertility Struggles
Neurodivergent concerns (partner with ADHD or Autism)
Triggering one another due to one or both of your trauma histories (attachment issues due to traumas)
BIPOC and/or interracial or cultural challenges
Considering separation/parting ways
Our Romantic Relationships
Romantic relationships play a significant role in our overall mental health and emotional well-being. A supportive, healthy partnership can act as a buffer against stress, anxiety, and depression, providing comfort, security, and a sense of belonging. On the other hand, ongoing conflict, disconnection, or emotional neglect in a relationship can increase feelings of loneliness, lower self-esteem, and contribute to mental health struggles. These struggles can be worsened for those who are trauma survivors. Because our closest relationships influence how we cope with life’s challenges, investing in a strong, respectful partnership isn’t just good for your relationship—it’s essential for your psychological health and personal growth.
How Couples Therapy At
EMTG Helps
Improve Communication – Learn how to express needs and emotions clearly while listening with empathy and understanding.
Resolve Conflict Constructively – Develop healthier ways to handle disagreements without blame or escalation.
Rebuild Trust – Work through past hurts or betrayals and rebuild a foundation of honesty and safety.
Strengthen Emotional Connection – Reconnect on a deeper level and restore closeness and affection.
Enhance Physical Intimacy – Address barriers to intimacy and foster a more fulfilling sexual relationship.
Align on Parenting or Life Goals – Navigate parenting challenges, household responsibilities, and major life decisions as a team.
Manage External Stress – Learn how to support each other while coping with work stress, health issues, or family pressures.
Recover from Life Transitions – Adapt to changes such as becoming parents, moving, or experiencing loss, together.
Prevent Future Issues – Build lasting relationship skills that reduce the risk of future breakdowns or disconnection.
Support Individual Growth – Create a relationship environment that supports personal development for both partners.
Therapeutic Techniques for Couples Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps you challenge unhelpful thinking patterns and core beliefs you have about your partner that often fuel miscommunication and resentment. CBT uses communication skills so couples learn practical techniques for expressing themselves clearly and listening effectively.
Culturally Affirmative/Multicultural Therapy prioritizes your background and all of your identities and how these experiences shape who you are and how you view your relationship. It can also help explore what expectations you may have about yourself and/or your partner.
Trauma-Informed Therapy helps you process and heal from previous childhood traumas and/or relational traumas from past partners that are impacting your relationship.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) provides skills to manage intense emotions and develop emotional regulation when in moments of conflict.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps you identify your values and goals and how to align them with your actions in your relationship.
Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT) builds on attachment theory to support couples to build strong, healthy relationships by exploring and changing emotional dynamics to enhance mutual understanding and closeness.
Couples therapy offers a powerful opportunity for partners to improve communication, rebuild trust, and deepen emotional intimacy. With our guidance, couples can break negative patterns, resolve lingering conflicts, and better understand each other’s needs. Whether you’re facing a specific challenge or simply want to strengthen your relationship, therapy provides tools and insights to foster healthier, more supportive dynamics.
About Dr. Shaneze Gayle Smith
I am licensed to provide therapy in 41 states.
I understand how overwhelming it can feel when every disagreement turns into a battle or when life changes pull you further apart instead of bringing you closer. Couples often come to me feeling stuck, hurt, or like they’re speaking different languages—and it’s painful when the person you love the most feels out of reach. Whether you’re struggling to resolve conflicts or facing major transitions that have shaken your foundation, therapy offers a space to slow down, reconnect, and truly hear each other again. I help couples not only learn how to navigate hard conversations, but also rediscover the safety, trust, and emotional closeness that brought them together in the first place.
I have expertise in working with trauma survivors struggling within relationship and those family planning or are parents. Also, I have expertise in interracial/mixed race couples or those navigating different cultures, and raising children who are mixed race and/or have different cultural backgrounds than parents.
About Vernee Brooks, LPC, LMHC
I am licensed for therapy in New Jersey & Texas.
As a therapist who works with couples, I help partners move beyond frustrating communication patterns and reconnect in more meaningful, respectful ways. When conversations consistently lead to misunderstandings, tension, or emotional distance, it can leave both people feeling unheard and alone. In couples therapy, I provide a neutral space where each partner can feel safe expressing themselves while learning new tools to listen, respond, and relate with empathy and clarity. Whether you're facing conflict, feeling stuck, or simply wanting to strengthen your bond, therapy can guide you toward a deeper, more connected partnership.
Couples Therapy FAQs
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A: Not at all. While many couples seek therapy during difficult times, it can also be a proactive space for growth, strengthening connection, and learning better communication skills. Think of it as relationship maintenance, not just emergency repair.
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A: 12-20 sessions is the typical amount of treatment length to see change. However, you and your partner can be in treatment for longer if you decide to.
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Yea, we get it. It’s common for one partner to feel hesitant. Sometimes one partner isn’t fully sold on therapy or there’s a fear that the therapist will be biased towards one partner. We don’t take sides here. We will create a safe, neutral environment where both voices are valued. Even just attending a session or two can help both partners better understand the process and decide how to move forward together.
Rebuild, reconnect, and grow together.
Get started with a free consultation, we will schedule time to chat and discuss what’s bringing you to couples therapy and how we would work together. It’s your time to ask questions and figure out if we’re right for you and your partner.