Couples Counseling in Southwest Florida
Every relationship hits rough patches. When communication breaks down and you feel more like roommates than partners, our Gottman-trained and EFT-certified therapists in Naples, Estero, and Fort Myers can help you find your way back to each other.
What Relationship Struggles Look Like
Relationships rarely fall apart in one dramatic moment. More often, the disconnect builds slowly -- a pattern of small misunderstandings, unspoken resentments, and missed bids for connection that gradually creates a wall between two people who once felt close. You might find yourselves having the same argument over and over, each time ending in frustration without resolution. Or maybe the arguments have stopped altogether, replaced by a quiet distance that feels just as painful.
For couples living in Naples, Estero, Fort Myers, and throughout Southwest Florida, relationship stress can be intensified by the pressures of daily life -- managing careers, raising children, navigating finances, caring for aging parents, or adjusting to retirement and the lifestyle shifts that come with living in Collier County or Lee County. Seasonal residents face the added challenge of maintaining connection through transitions and time apart. Whatever the circumstances, when your relationship is struggling, it colors everything else in your life.
Common signs that couples counseling could help include frequent or escalating arguments, feeling unheard or dismissed by your partner, loss of emotional or physical intimacy, difficulty making decisions together, trust issues or infidelity, growing apart around values or life goals, and the sense that you are walking on eggshells to avoid conflict. You might still love each other deeply but feel stuck in patterns you cannot break on your own. That is exactly what couples therapy is designed to address.
Our Treatment Approach
At Florida Coast Counseling, our couples therapists use approaches grounded in decades of relationship research. We do not take sides or assign blame. Instead, we help both partners understand the patterns that keep them stuck and build new, healthier ways of connecting.
The Gottman Method, based on over 40 years of research by Drs. John and Julie Gottman, is one of the most thoroughly studied approaches to couples therapy. It focuses on strengthening friendship and fondness between partners, managing conflict constructively rather than destructively, and creating shared meaning in the relationship. Tracy Onal, our certified Level 2 Gottman Therapist, uses this framework to help couples identify the "Four Horsemen" -- criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling -- and replace them with healthier communication patterns. Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), another cornerstone of our couples work, helps partners understand the deeper emotional needs driving their conflicts. Most arguments are not really about the dishes, the schedule, or the spending. They are about feeling unseen, unvalued, or insecure in the relationship. EFT helps couples access and express these vulnerable emotions, creating a stronger, more secure bond.
What to Expect in Sessions
The first session is typically an extended intake where your therapist meets with both of you together to hear about your relationship, understand what brought you in, and learn about your individual histories and goals. Some of our therapists also schedule brief individual sessions with each partner early in the process to ensure both people feel heard. This is a safe space -- your therapist is not there to judge or take sides, but to understand the full picture.
In ongoing sessions, you will work together on the specific dynamics that are causing pain in your relationship. This might involve learning to fight fairly, practicing active listening and validation, rebuilding trust after a betrayal, improving emotional responsiveness, or finding new ways to show appreciation and maintain connection during busy or stressful periods. Your therapist will guide structured conversations, help you recognize negative cycles in real time, and teach you tools you can use at home between sessions. Couples sessions are typically 50 to 60 minutes, and some couples benefit from longer 80-minute sessions when working through particularly complex issues.
Change in relationships does not happen overnight. Some couples notice improvement within the first few sessions, while others need more time -- especially if there are deep-seated patterns or significant hurts to work through. What our clients in Naples, Estero, and Fort Myers consistently tell us is that having a skilled, neutral third party in the room makes conversations possible that were not happening at home. Whether your goal is to rebuild a struggling relationship or to strengthen a good one, our couples therapists will meet you where you are and help you move toward the partnership you both want.
Therapists Who Specialize in Couples Counseling
Tracy Onal, MA, RMHCI
Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern
Gottman Level 2 Certified | EFT Certified
Naples & Estero offices
Shivani Patel, M.Ed. & Ed.S., RMFTI
Registered Marriage and Family Therapy Intern
Estero & Fort Myers offices
Emily Korolevich, MS, LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Bilingual: English & Spanish
Naples office
Priscilla Bovi, MS, LMHC
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Naples office
Frequently Asked Questions
How do we know if we need couples counseling?
If you and your partner are experiencing recurring arguments, difficulty communicating, emotional distance, trust issues, or a general sense that something is 'off' in the relationship, couples counseling can help. You do not need to be in crisis to benefit -- many couples come to therapy to strengthen a good relationship or navigate a specific life transition like a move, a new baby, or a career change. If either partner feels unheard, disconnected, or frustrated with how things are going, that is reason enough to reach out.
What approaches do your couples therapists use?
Our therapists use research-backed approaches including the Gottman Method, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Solution-Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Structural Family Therapy. Tracy Onal is a certified Level 2 Gottman Therapist and EFT Certified Therapist, bringing specialized expertise in strengthening emotional bonds and improving communication patterns. Your therapist will choose the approach -- or combination of approaches -- that best fits your relationship's unique needs and goals.
Does my partner have to want to come, or can I start couples counseling alone?
Ideally, both partners attend couples counseling sessions. However, if your partner is hesitant, you can absolutely start individual therapy to work on your side of the relationship dynamic. Often, when one partner begins making positive changes, the other becomes more open to joining. Our therapists can also help you explore whether couples counseling, individual work, or both would be most helpful for your situation.
How long does couples counseling usually take?
The length of treatment depends on the issues you are working through, how long the patterns have been in place, and how engaged both partners are in the process. Some couples see meaningful improvement in 8 to 12 sessions, while others with more complex or long-standing issues benefit from ongoing work over several months. Your therapist will regularly assess progress with both of you and adjust the treatment plan accordingly.
Do you offer couples counseling through telehealth?
Yes, we offer telehealth couples counseling sessions for partners located anywhere in Florida. Virtual sessions can be especially convenient for couples with busy schedules or when partners are in different locations. Our therapists use the same evidence-based approaches in telehealth as they do in our Naples, Estero, and Fort Myers offices. Many couples find that meeting from home creates a more relaxed environment for difficult conversations.
Ready to Start Your Journey?
Your relationship is worth fighting for. Take the first step together -- our couples therapists are here to help you reconnect, communicate, and build a stronger partnership.
Available at our Naples, Estero, and Fort Myers offices, plus telehealth across Florida.