Couples we work with in Towson
"Couples counseling" assumes all couples are the same couple. They are not. An engaged pair six months from the wedding, a marriage of thirty years, and two partners with different neurotypes are working on different problems with different stakes.
This page names who this practice actually serves, so you can see yourself specifically rather than hope you are included. All of it is available in person in Towson or by telehealth across Maryland.
By stage
Premarital counseling with Prepare/Enrich
Engaged couples complete Prepare/Enrich, the most widely used relationship assessment, before the first joint session. You get a data-backed map of your strengths and your growth areas, then four to six sessions working the map: money, in-laws, conflict style, and the expectations neither of you has said out loud yet.
Prepare/Enrich certifiedNewlyweds building the foundation
The first two years set patterns that tend to run for decades. Short, skills-focused work now, on money, in-laws, and how you argue, is the cheapest counseling you will ever do.
Gottman-ledLong-married and older couples
Thirty years in, the question is rarely whether you love each other. It is whether you can find each other under the accumulated roles. Retirement and empty-nest years are a real second act for marriages willing to re-meet.
EFT-ledBy neurotype and identity
Neurodiverse couples, ADHD and autism
When one brain runs on ADHD time and the other does not, missed commitments read as not caring, and reminders read as contempt. Dr. Vance trained with AANE specifically in neurodiverse couples work. The frame changes from communication failure to translation problem, and translation can be taught.
AANE trained, PACT-informedLGBTQ+ and same-sex couples
Affirming couples therapy where your relationship is the subject, not a curiosity. The evidence-based methods are the same; the context, stressors, and family dynamics get treated as your reality rather than a footnote.
All modalitiesIntercultural and interfaith couples
Two family cultures, two sets of unspoken rules about conflict, money, parents, and holidays. The work makes the unspoken rules explicit so you can choose your own.
EFT-ledBy family structure
Blended families and stepfamilies
Stepfamilies run on different physics than first families, and applying first-family expectations to them is the most common mistake. Counseling builds the couple alliance first, because research is clear that the couple is the load-bearing wall of a blended family.
Gottman + family systemsCouples in recovery from addiction
Sobriety saves the person and then asks hard questions of the marriage. This work supports both, coordinated with individual treatment and recovery programs.
Structured, with referralsEthical non-monogamy and open relationships
Non-judgmental, structurally literate counseling for partners in open arrangements. Agreements, jealousy, and renegotiation are treated as workable relationship material, not as the problem itself.
All modalitiesWhatever the label, the work starts the same way
Every couple above begins with the same free 15-minute call and the same three-session assessment, and gets a method chosen for them from three certifications, not a default. If your situation is driven by a specific crisis, start from the issues page instead.
Not sure you count as "a couple who goes to counseling"? That doubt is the most common thing couples bring to a first call.