Therapists in Houston, TX

What makes building and maintaining a personal relationship so difficult? It can be many things. Past and present experiences, patterns that you can't seem to break out of, childhood traumas, family influences, abuse (sexual, emotional or physical), post-traumatic stress issues, or your own expectations and anxieties. All of these factors can affect your relationships with family, friends and romantic partners.

Often clients think, "We love each other, we just fight too much." "I need help learning how to communicate my emotions." "I want this relationship to work, I just don't know how to get over the affair. I want to trust again." Is this you? Are these words you've said? Are you living in fear and pain, and desperate to find your way back to your partner and to a relationship that feels healthy and fulfilling?

Negative intense emotions can affect our daily lives if we allow them to. These emotions can be anger, shame, guilt, or sadness. It can leave us feeling down and overwhelmed causing anxiety and may drive us to behave in ways we normally wouldn't. Sometimes it may be difficult for couples and families to relate to each other when issues of life get in the way or when one may not believe the other understands. My focus is to help couples and families to connect emotionally while developing skills to communicate, validate, and understand each other.

Life can sometimes be complicated. Workplace stress, relationship challenges, financial difficulty and complicated family issues can become overwhelming, especially when you feel fatiqued, anxious, depressed, confused or alone. You may even begin to lose hope for the possibility of ever getting what you want and living a happy, productive life. A counselor can help you identify the root of the problems and develop steps toward their resolution. There is no reason to struggle through another day alone. Reach out for the support you need and we will work together to move you towards living the life you want to live.

Help clients presenting with sexual, physical, and emotional trauma, neglect, abandonment, inner child wounds, grief, depression, anxiety, infidelity (affair recovery/betrayal), codependency, interfaith relationships, self-esteem issues, adult survivors of sexual trauma, communication problems, sexless marriages (fostering feelings of rejection, resentment, frustration, loneliness, and ultimately emotional disconnect/distancing), 'roommate syndrome.' I also work with those experiencing sexual issues that lead to performance anxiety, low desire, mismatch in physical/sexual intimacy between partners, ED, etc

The journey to do emotional work is not an easy one. I have experienced my own personal work and growth in my life and can meet you in yours in therapy with compassion, vulnerability and empathy. Our life experiences can manifest in many ways and those trauma responses can morph into patterns that leave us feeling powerless and lost. We can be driven by unconscious primary emotions that keep us in a triggered and reactive cycle when we are seeking secure and loving connections. As a change agent and a connection expert, I can assist you in your ability to connect with others and thrive.

Having problems with communication in your relationship? Are there topics you can't discuss? Does it leave you feeling upset & withdrawn? These are natural feelings. Relationships can be hard- they take work. You may be thinking "We can't go on like this. I just don't know what to do." But there is hope-you can feel better. I am a Certified Imago Therapist for the past 20 years & do Imago Couples Workshops with my wife Amy. Helping couples, families, & individuals connect & communicate more effectively, especially around conflict is my passion. I have lived & worked through many of the same issues in my 37 years of marriage.

Do you feel stuck in your relationship? Do you miss the sense of aliveness you once felt? Perhaps you’re having difficulty overcoming various sexual challenges. Does performance anxiety, frustration with your orgasm, or sexual pain stop you from fully experiencing pleasure? Has it caused tension within your relationship? Maybe you’ve read books, articles, or even consulted with your doctor, but nothing works. You’re not alone. I’ve built my career, one which I feel so passionately about, around helping people just like you.

Are you struggling in life? Does anxiety keep you awake at night? Do you feel sad and blue? Is your relationship in trouble? Do you spend too much time worrying about your looks? If you are struggling in life with these issues, you are not alone. Life can be difficult and many people have felt the way you do. Individuals often feel that something needs to be seriously wrong with them in order to seek therapy. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is often helpful to have an objective, nonjudgmental person to help you through life's challenges.

There is something empowering about feeling completely seen and heard and being met with empathy. My approach is warm and down-to-earth, meeting each client with compassion and support. I have a passion for working with individuals experiencing life stressors, including finding meaning and purpose in life, work-life balance, stress, anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, parenthood, and the ending of a relationship. I believe we all have a reason for how we arrived where we are in life, and the narratives we tell ourselves shape our identities. My approach is to help you gain control of your life and envision a new future.

Are you struggling to communicate effectively during conflicts? Do you feel that stubbornness and unwillingness to compromise are causing resentment in your relationships or toward your partner? Do you find yourself getting angry, saying and doing things you don't mean, leaving you feeling guilty and confused? Are you worried that the love and trust you once had will never be regained? If so, you are not alone. Many couples enter therapy with similar issues and goals. I am honored to witness your aha moments as you learn to navigate your relationships without arguing and begin to trust again.

As a Clinical Psychologist and Marriage and Family Therapist, I have practiced for thirty years. I am an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in The Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, where I teach and supervise Psychiatry residents. But most of my work is in my private practice, doing individual and couples psychodynamic psychotherapy. I'm a certified group psychotherapist and a certified Imago Relationship Therapist, Advanced Clinician. Although I'm not on any insurance plans and do fee for service, you can file insurance if you have provisions in your policy for out of network providers.

Whether one seeks relief from anxiety, trauma, relational impasses, or life disillusionment, therapy can help. It is unfortunate that insufficiently engaged approaches to therapy, prohibitive rates, and the unconscionable reluctance of most clinicians to accept insurance fail so many clients, who in good faith seek to discover a healing of heart and mind. As a psychodynamic therapist, I view my role as an empathic change agent employed to help bring about a fuller knowledge of self and a more liberated experience of life and relationship. I also supervise highly promising interns from NWU available for as low as $15-30 per session.

Has your life not been going the way you planned? Perhaps the Covid-19 pandemic created new problems or dragged up unresolved issues. You may have spent countless hours on social media searching for relief for your loneliness, sadness, anger, shame and anxiety only to realize how easy it is to be influenced by false profiles, false information and alternative versions of reality. Even if you are not alone, perhaps you are feeling isolated because you are struggling in your marriage or other relationships and are wishing that you had better communication, emotional connection and intimacy. There is a way out of your pain and sufferin

My specializations include couples and marital counseling, individual therapy, behavioral health (i.e., the mind-body connection), mindfulness training, stress management, values/goals clarification, LGBT issues, and hypnosis. Understandably, clients want results that are both fast and lasting, so I tend to use some type of brief, solution-focused model in my work. I also have considerable experience utilizing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a method that is both quick and effective for relationship/family/parenting problems, depression, anxiety, grief and loss, chronic pain, guilt, insomnia, medical impairments, work stress, anger/resentment, smoking addiction, and many other difficult issues.

As a therapist for many years, I have found two approaches to couples therapy to stand out: Imago Relationship Therapy and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). Imago, described in the NY Times best-selling, Getting the Love You Want, (Dr. Harville Hendrix), teaches a simple yet powerful communication tool that is ideal for anyone wishing to learn effective communication. EFT is superb for helping couples move past their own and their partner's frustrations into their deeper longings for connection. Combined, these two methodologies have proven to be the most powerful approach I know for couples in any stage of relationship.

I am a Psychotherapist in private practice and my specialty is helping adolescents, adults, couples, and families to work through difficult life challenges and transitions. My work varies from helping individuals with self-esteem issues, to academic and career counseling, to guiding adolescents/young adults towards independent living, and to helping individuals and couples improve the quality of their relationships and of their individual happiness. I am committed to helping people take action, see results, and start living fully. I take an eclectic approach, using many evidence-based theories, and work to sculpt treatment that is individualized to each client.

I deeply value marital and relationship fulfillment. If you are an adult seeking marriage, dating, premarital, affairs, or other relationship counseling, then we are likely to be a good fit for each other. Since 1987 I have focused as a psychologist full-time on developing and implementing specialized expertise in couples and other adult relationship counseling. Together we may assess in a friendly way what is happening in your relationship, how it developed to be this way, and what may be done to improve communication, build trust, strengthen emotional connections, enhance intimacy, and otherwise fulfill your relationship goals.

Couples come to me when they are sick of small disagreements turning into BIG arguments. Many therapists start with the problems… I start with solutions. I’ve created simple tools to help couples communicate based on seeing what successful couples do differently for over 20 years in practice.