Relationships Counseling & Couples Therapy in Dallas

Is your marriage about to end?

Do you feel like you are spending more time fighting than you are connecting?

Missing romance, intimacy, or passion in your relationship?

Couples counseling can help whether you and your partner are spending a great deal of your time arguing, you’re dealing with a betrayal, or ambivalence about your relationship or marriage. Relationship therapy can help your relationship with guidance. A couples therapist can show you how to establish clear boundaries, open up new lines of effective communication, and heal the hurt you may be experiencing.

Sex and intimacy can be complex and difficult. Whether you’re in a long-term or newer relationship, it’s important to feel desired, connected, and drawn to your partner. Our trained sex therapistscan help you talk about sex in a productive and meaningful way, so that you can enhance your erotic connection.

No matter if you are in a gay, straight, or lesbian relationship, we can help you deal with the difficult situations that you face, and redevelop your life with your partner. We also offer affirming therapy for consensual non-monogamy and polyamory.

Relationships can struggle for a variety of reasons. Some lose a sexual spark that they once had. Others struggle to get along with each other. Then there are those relationships where cheating or betrayal are serious problems. We can help you get your relationship to where you want it to be. We’ll help you get to a place of love, connection, trust, and open communication.

We help couples with the following problems:

Low sexual desire or sexual dysfunctions.
Communication problems or problems managing conflict.
Deceit, cheating, or betrayal.
Out of control sexual behavior or sexual addiction.
Relationship boredom.
Marital problems.
Interest in polyamory, open relationships, and swinging.
Love avoidance and love addictions.
Substance abuse problems.
Identify if it’s worth continuing the relationship.

Read more about common relationship problems that can be helped with marriage therapy.

Contact Us Today for Relationship Help

With our expertise in betrayal, sex and intimacy, and communication, we can help with some of the most common relationship problems.

You should also consider participating in couples therapy if you are experiencing dissatisfaction in your relationship. Whether you struggle with communicating with your partner, you have problems in your sex life, lack trust in your relationship, or just have an overall feeling that something has changed for the worse, we can help. Together, we will work so that you can understand what leads to toxic relationships and rid your lives of the toxicity that has divided you. Couples therapy can help you identify what you are wanting out of your relationship and how you can communicate this effectively.

Maybe you are coping with an infidelity and do not know if you can trust your partner again. Or maybe you feel lonely and frustrated even though you are in a long-term, committed relationship. We will help you with rebuilding trust in your relationship, improving on your communication problems, and regaining intimacy in your lives. When faced with a loss of trust caused by an infidelity, anger, sadness, and resentment can make it difficult to move forward in a relationship. On the other hand, avoiding taking responsibility, and not knowing how to comfort your loved one can create even a bigger divide. Together we will identify the primary issues that break down your communication, and work with some simple strategies to overcoming these issues. We will identify roles that you play in your family and work together to change these roles to make them more positive for your relationship, rather than the catalyst to a problem. We will also work to understand intimacy and the problems that you deal with in regards to intimacy. Whether this has to do with your sex life, or has more to do with you lacking a feeling of closeness to your partner, we will identify and create approaches to these obstacles, which will help you take small steps toward the intimate life you once had.

Don’t wait until your relationship falls apart. Therapy can help you now.

Many relationships will feel like they’re on the brink of falling apart. Unfortunately, many of these couples feel like there is nowhere to go in these situations. We have worked with couples who are dealing with rebuilding trust after a serious betrayal, or those who are struggling to have open discussions with each other. Contact us today to learn ways to work together, and rebuild connection.

If you have hope, there is hope that your relationship can make not only survive, but it can thrive.

Although the relationship problems that you are currently facing may seem too difficult to overcome, with the right guidance, the problems that you face may still be ones that you can conquer. There may still be hope in rebuilding a trustful, intimate, and sexual life with your partner that you can be content with. If you are in the Dallas area, Call or e-mail us today to set up a consultation to see how therapy can help your relationship.

We offer affirming therapy for gay and lesbian couples.

If you’re marriage is struggling and you’re gay or lesbian, but you want a therapist who is affirming, we can help. We are well known and respected in Dallas as a group who is affirming to the LGBT community. We offer therapy that is focused on client comfort, self-acceptance, and self-worth. We understand that gay and lesbian relationships are not the same as straight relationships. We also understand that gay and lesbian couples deal with a different set of issues that are unique to them.

You won’t have to educate your therapist about these differences. With us, you’ll find a place that understands and validates these experiences.

Our Dallas Relationship Specialists

Dr. Michael J. Salas

Certified Sex Therapist and sex addiction therapist who specializes in men's sexual dysfunctions, sexual compulsivity, & trauma therapy. Dr. Michael Salas is an LGBTQ+ affirming therapist, a kink aware therapist, and a consensual non-monogamy affirming therapist.

Luis Hernandez

Specializes in helping couples manage conflict, establish solid boundaries, and enhance intimacy and connection.

Zachary Ramsey

Certified Sex Addiction Therapist who specializes in sexual compulsivity, couples therapy, lesbian and gay affirming therapy and consensual non-monogamy.

RJ Sauceda

Certified Sex Therapist in training who specializes in helping individuals and couples with managing out of control behaviors.

Phillip McCulley

Certified Sex Addiction Therapist who specializes in couples and marriage therapy, gay and lesbian affirming therapy, gender affirming care, and men's sexual dysfunctions. Specializes in helping couples manage conflict and rebuild intimacy and connections.

Caroline Rucker

Marriage and family therapy specialist who specializes in helping couples rebuild trust, enhance their communication, and heal after trauma and betrayal.

Common Relationship Problems that Relationship, Couples, and Marriage Therapy Can Help With:

Problems with Sex

Sex is one of the key ways that couples connect and express intimacy, but it can also be a source of serious problems. There can be issues with sexual dysfunction and sexual desire. For some, there are issues with pain with sex, and other times there are problems with communication about this. Other couples simply struggle with talking about their sexual desires. In your relationship, there are ways to find your way through these issues. As you identify what is behind your problems with sex, you can open up with your partner about these issues, and find solutions that can work. This can mean increased romance, sexual intimacy, and connection. Whether it’s low sexual desire, erectile dysfunction, or sexual gratification, self-awareness and communication are the keys to a sexual relationship that works.

High Levels of Conflict

Many relationships are struggling have difficulties because of conflict. The primary reason for difficulties with conflict is communication issues within the relationship. Sometimes, these problems can be to such an extent that the discussion can erupt into name-calling and anger. Without being able to work through disagreements, couples can’t make their way to an adequate negotiation. All couples have conflict. However, there are key characteristics of those relationships that are more successful at dealing with such conflict. The couples who best handle these challenges are able to identify and regulate their emotions, practice emotional self-soothing, and actively listen.

Unfair Fighting

You or your partner may make hurtful comments towards each other. You may struggle to communicate your needs to your partner, or have difficulties understanding what your partner is communicating to you. This can lead to toxic stress in the relationship. Over time, this stress can slowly unravel your ability to manage discussions in a civil way.

Infidelity

Cheating and affairs can leave a trail of trauma and pain that can turn even some of the best relationships toxic. Couples that are working through infidelity have to practice open communication, while easing back into vulnerability and trust. After an affair, there can be no more assumptions about what is and isn’t OK. The couple has to learn to tolerate unknowns, practice mutual respect, and practice openness about struggles and successes. In time, and with the right help, couples are able to understand what lead to the cheating, and work through the pain. Many are even able to find more closeness and connection than before the discovery of the cheating.

Many times after an affair has taken place, trust can be an issue. Because there is a fear of vulnerability, sex can also be an issue. Meeting with a couples counselor can help you with learning when and how to trust again, re-open the doors to your sex-life, and communicate how you could benefit from reassurance.

Balancing Life and Relationships

Some relationships suffer from balancing busy work-lives and busy family lives. You or your partner may have difficulties setting boundaries with your workplace, which impacts your relationship. You may also struggle with making time for yourselves if you have children. In these situations, the relationship can become lost in the business of everyday life. Making sure that you have time alone with each other can seem impossible. It doesn’t have to be.

Money

Money is a common issue that many couples face. Most relationships have some type of income imbalance. Relationships also are built with people who have independent ideas of the significance of money. People develop their own rules about this issue. Many times these rules come from lifetime of stories about saving, spending, and earning. The stories can even be trauma based. The couples that are more successful in working through financial concerns are those that share their lifetime stories of money, while practicing solid listening skills and respect.

Negotiation

Relationships are largely about negotiation. Different people with different life experiences come together to form a connection. We’re taught that couples share everything. The truth is that even the most solid of relationships have differing ideas. Couples who are the most successful in their relationships are able work towards negotiation. However, they also recognize that prior to negotiating, they have to respect each other and practice validation.

Disconnection

As time passes, and couples are together for a longer period of time, moving apart is common. Connection is the most important aspect to all relationships. Romantic relationships are no different. Unfortunately, many couples separate at this crossroads in their relationship, when they feel like they have lost something. However, there are ways to reconnect, when prior connection has been lost.

Marriage can change all relationships, but it can also come with pressure. Building a life, raising children, and aging together all come with their individual challenges. Then there are those unique situations that can make it even more complicated. Cheating, loss of passion, lack of respect, and built up frustration can take their toll.

Sex in marriage is important, but it’s not always easy to know how to make it a priority.

After being with someone for a long period of time, it can be difficult to maintain a meaningful and fun sex life. This doesn’t have to be a natural, downhill issue. We’ll help you open up with each other and identify ways to develop a sex life that can really work, but that is also fun and enjoyable.

We also can help relationships that are struggling with sexual dysfunction. Whether you’re dealing with pain with sex, erectile dysfunction, or delayed ejaculation, we can help. Our therapists have experience to help you understand these problems, and work through them in a setting that is open and welcoming.

For relationships that are interested in a more open relationship lovestyle, we can help with this as well. We will approach it with a non-judgmental and balanced perspective. This will help to make it so that you can be open, but validate each person’s point of view. Whether you decide to negotiate a style that is more open, or you decide that you’re wanting to remain monogamous, we will help you walk through this, while opening up with partners about your desires.

Addictions

Whether you’re in a relationship that is struggling with a sex or love addiction, or substance abuse, we can help. We have specialized training in intimacy disorders, sex addiction, and substance abuse. We know that relationships take time to rebuild after these complicated issues. We’ll help you get into recovery, work through shame, and increase your communication.

It’s difficult to know how to talk about these serious issues. Together, we’ll work so that the addiction that you’re living with doesn’t feel like a blockade. You’ll know what questions to ask, and how to answer them, without blaming and shaming each other. Again, connection is our goal.