At Attuned Perspective, we use Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT), an evidence-based approach that helps partners move out of conflict and disconnection and into deeper emotional closeness. This approach is not about learning quick communication tips or surface-level skills. Instead, EFCT helps you understand the emotional dynamics that drive your relationship patterns, such as why you react the way you do, and what your responses are really trying to protect or express.

Through this process, couples learn to recognize and shift out of negative cycles, express their needs and vulnerabilities more openly, and respond to each other with greater care and emotional presence. The goal is to create a stronger, more secure bond where both partners feel seen, valued, and emotionally connected.

Couples therapy is for any partnership that wants to strengthen connection, improve communication, or work through challenges — whether you’ve been together for months or decades. You don’t need to be in crisis to benefit. Some couples come in to address recurring conflicts or rebuild trust, while others want to deepen intimacy or prevent small issues from becoming bigger ones.

Book a no-fee consultation to discuss your questions with Dr. Holshausen.

Couples therapy begins with a comprehensive assessment of your relationship. In this initial stage, we work together to understand the patterns that keep you feeling stuck in recursive loops of pain and distress. We also explore how those patterns developed, including the individual histories and attachment experiences each partner brings into the relationship. The couples therapy assessment is a critical first step. It helps us build a clear and compassionate picture of your unique relationship story and allows us to create a tailored road map for treatment. The assessment typically entails the following:

• Joint couples assessment appointment (75-mins)

• Individual appointments with each partner (50-mins each)

• Joint feedback appointment (75-mins)

After the assessment, we’ll share feedback about what we’ve learned together and what we recommend as the next step. In some cases, the assessment may suggest that a different kind of support, such as another form of couples therapy or individual therapy for one or both partners, might be more helpful. If couples therapy with us is a good fit, we will move forward together.

The length of couples therapy depends on a few factors: what brought you here, how long the issues have been present, and the goals you and your partner want to work toward.

Some couples come for a few focused sessions to address a specific challenge, while others choose to work together for several months to create deeper, lasting change. On average, many couples find meaningful progress within 12–20 sessions.

If you’re looking for a faster, more concentrated approach, you might consider a Couples Therapy Intensive — a 1–3 day immersive experience that allows us to go deeper in a shorter amount of time.

Every relationship is different, and we’ll talk openly about what’s realistic for you during our consultation and you’ll get a more tailored idea of options best suited to your relationship after your assessment. The most important thing is that therapy moves at a pace that feels productive, supportive, and safe for both of you.

A Couples Therapy Intensive is a highly focused, extended therapy experience designed to help couples make significant progress in a short period of time.

Instead of meeting for one hour a week, an intensive involves spending 1–3 full days working together with me. This immersive approach allows us to dive deeply into the core issues, break unhelpful patterns, and create lasting shifts without the interruptions that can happen between weekly sessions.

Intensives are ideal for:

• Couples facing an urgent relationship crisis

• Partners who live far away and can’t attend weekly sessions

• Busy professionals or first responders who want concentrated work

• Couples who want to accelerate their progress and reconnect more quickly

During an intensive, we combine Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) with other evidence-based approaches to help you understand each other more deeply, repair emotional wounds, and rebuild trust and closeness. You’ll leave with greater insight, practical tools, and a clear path forward.

No. Your therapists role is to support your relationship, not one partner over the other. While there may be moments when your therapist may (gently) challenge one of you, it’s always in service of helping you better understand each other and move toward connection.

It’s common for one partner to feel hesitant about starting therapy. Sometimes that’s because they’re worried it will be a “blame session” or they’re unsure what to expect. We strive to create a non-judgmental, supportive environment where both people can speak openly and feel respected. It often helps to attend the consultation together to simply explore what therapy might be like — no commitment required.

You can also both read our blog post here.

In most cases, it’s best to work with a different therapist for individual sessions to ensure the focus of couples work stays on the relationship.

However, one of our unique approaches at Attuned Perspective is that we often provide FULL support for each couple, offering couples therapy and individual therapy for each partner with therapists in-house at our practice. This allows you to get streamlined services from therapists who are all on the same page, using a similar approach, working toward shared goals. If this is of interest, please inquire about this model.

Yes — we work with couples of all backgrounds, orientations, and stages of life. Whether you’re dating, engaged, married, or in a long-term partnership, you’re welcome here.