Couples Counseling in North Fort Worth
Helping couples break painful patterns and reconnect when conflict or distance has taken over.
Serving North Fort Worth, Keller, Alliance, and surrounding areas.
If you’re here, you might be feeling stuck. . .
You keep having the same argument and never seem to resolve it.
One of you pushes for connection while the other shuts down or pulls away.
You love each other, but you don’t feel as close anymore.
Small conversations turn into big fights.
Trust has been damaged by betrayal, secrecy, or past hurts.
You feel more like roommates or co-parents than partners.
You’re wondering whether your relationship can actually feel good again.
The problem may not be the argument itself
Most couples don't get stuck because they don't know how to communicate.
They get stuck because certain moments begin triggering the same pattern over and over again.
One partner may push harder because they want to feel heard or connected. The other may become defensive, shut down, or pull away because the conversation feels overwhelming.
Before long, you're no longer fighting about dishes, money, parenting, sex, or schedules.
You're fighting from a deeper place of feeling unheard, unimportant, rejected, criticized, or alone.
Couples counseling can help slow that cycle so you can begin to understand what is happening beneath the conflict and start responding to each other differently.
How I help Couples Get unstuck
When couples get stuck, the argument on the surface is often only part of what is happening.
In our work together, we slow those moments down and begin identifying the cycle that keeps pulling you apart.
You’ll learn to understand what is happening underneath the anger, shutdown, defensiveness, or pursuit and begin responding to each other differently.
My approach is attachment-based and Emotionally Focused Therapy-informed, with practical tools you can use outside the therapy room.
The goal isn’t simply to fight less.
It’s to help you feel safer, reconnect, and build a stronger relationship with each other.
Couples I work well with
Couples who love each other but keep getting caught in the same conflict.
Couples experiencing emotional distance or loneliness.
Couples where one partner pursues, and the other withdraws.
Couples rebuilding trust after betrayal or relational hurt.
Remarried and blended-family couples trying to protect their marriage while navigating parenting and family complexity.
Couples where one partner, often the husband, is hesitant about therapy or uncomfortable talking about emotions.
I’m John. I help Couples Find their Way Back to Each Other.
I help couples who love each other but feel stuck in patterns of conflict, distance, resentment, or disconnection.
The couples I work with often remember a time when being together felt easy. Now, they may find themselves having the same arguments, feeling misunderstood, walking on eggshells, or wondering how they became so disconnected from the person they once felt closest to.
This isn’t about becoming the “perfect” couple or never arguing again. It’s about learning how to stay connected when things get hard and building a relationship that feels like home again.
This work is personal to me too. I’ve been married and part of a blended family for over 13 years, so I understand how quickly stress, parenting, family responsibilities, and everyday life can put pressure on a relationship.
I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate, LMFT-A, supervised by Rachel Pendergraft, LMFT-S. I also hold a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and an MBA, and my clinical work is grounded in attachment and Emotionally Focused Therapy.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Couples counseling is more than simply learning better communication skills.
We will work together to understand the patterns that keep pulling you into conflict, distance, defensiveness, or shutdown. Often, the argument happening on the surface is connected to something deeper underneath it.
My approach is attachment-based and informed by Emotionally Focused Therapy. We will slow down difficult moments, identify the cycle you get caught in, and help each of you better understand what is happening emotionally for both partners.
Over time, the goal is to help you respond to each other differently, rebuild emotional safety, and create a stronger connection.
And while the work can be serious, therapy does not have to feel stiff or clinical. You can expect genuine conversation, practical help, and probably some laughter along the way.
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This is very common.
Sometimes one partner is ready for counseling long before the other. Your spouse may be skeptical, uncomfortable talking about personal things, worried about being blamed, or simply unsure whether therapy will actually help.
I try to create an environment where both partners feel heard and respected. Couples counseling is not about deciding who is right or who is wrong. It is about understanding what is happening between the two of you.
If your spouse is unsure, a free 15-minute consultation can also be a low-pressure way for both of you to meet me, ask questions, and decide whether counseling feels like a good fit.
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I currently work on a private-pay basis rather than billing insurance directly.
Depending on your insurance plan, you may have out-of-network benefits that allow you to submit documentation for possible reimbursement. I recommend contacting your insurance company directly to ask about your specific benefits for couples or family therapy.
Private-pay counseling also allows us to focus on the needs and goals of your relationship without an insurance company determining the length or direction of treatment.
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My fee is $175 for a 50-minute session.
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Some couples come to counseling because they have recently started getting stuck in conflict, while others are working through patterns that have developed over many years. Things like the level of distress in the relationship, past hurts, betrayal, trauma, and each partner's willingness to engage in the process can all affect the length of counseling.
Rather than giving you a predetermined number of sessions, we will regularly talk about your goals and whether you are seeing meaningful change.
The goal is not to keep you in therapy indefinitely. It is to help you develop a healthier, more secure relationship that you can continue building outside of the therapy room.
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Yes.
You do not have to come into counseling already certain that you want to stay married.
Some couples come because they desperately want to repair their relationship. Others come feeling exhausted, discouraged, or unsure whether the relationship can be saved.
My role is not to pressure you toward staying together or separating. Instead, I help create a space where both partners can slow things down, better understand what has happened in the relationship, and make thoughtful decisions about what comes next.
When reconciliation is something both partners want to pursue, we can work toward rebuilding safety, trust, and connection.m description
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My role is not to decide who is right and who is wrong. That means there may be times when I challenge one partner more directly, and other times when I challenge the other. My goal is to help both of you understand how the pattern between you is keeping you stuck.
The goal is not to find a winner. It is to help the two of you stop fighting against each other and start understanding what is happening between you.