Couples Therapy and Marriage Counseling | Premarital Counseling | California and Texas
Online Couples Therapy and In-Person Marriage Counseling in Petaluma, CA
Every relationship hits hard seasons.
Maybe you’re having the same argument on repeat and nothing ever actually resolves. Maybe you’ve grown distant and aren’t sure how it happened or when the two of you stopped really talking. Maybe trust has been broken and you’re not sure whether what’s been damaged can actually be repaired.
Whatever you’re facing, the fact that you’re here means you haven’t given up. That matters more than you might realize.
Couples therapy and marriage counseling give you and your partner a structured, supportive space to slow down, understand each other more deeply, and build something stronger than what you had before.
What Brings Couples to Therapy
Relationships struggle for all kinds of reasons. You might be navigating:
- Constant conflict or communication breakdown that goes nowhere
- Emotional distance, disconnection, or loneliness inside the relationship
- Betrayal, affairs, or a breach of trust
- Sexual and intimacy issues
- Addiction and codependency patterns
- Financial stress and differing values around money
- Parenting disagreements or blended family challenges
- Extended family pressure and boundary struggles
- Cross-cultural differences in background, values, or expectations
- Emotional abuse or unhealthy relational dynamics
You don’t have to be in crisis to benefit from couples therapy. Many couples come to therapy not because everything is falling apart but because they want to build something more intentional together before it does.
Premarital and Premarriage Counseling
One of the most meaningful investments you can make before marriage is taking the time to understand each other deeply before the hard seasons arrive.
Premarital counseling helps couples:
- Identify potential areas of conflict before they become entrenched patterns
- Build communication skills that will serve you throughout your marriage
- Explore values, expectations, and goals around finances, family, faith, and intimacy
- Understand each other’s attachment styles and emotional needs
- Begin your marriage with a shared foundation and a clear sense of direction
Marty uses research-backed premarital assessment tools including SYMBIS (Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts) and Prepare-Enrich to give couples a thorough, personalized picture of where they are and where they want to go. These aren’t generic questionnaires. They’re clinically validated tools that generate a detailed roadmap for your work together.
Premarriage counseling is available online throughout California and Texas and in person in Petaluma, California.
Why Couples Therapy Works
Most couples wait too long to ask for help. Research on relationship health consistently shows that the average couple waits six years from the onset of significant problems before seeking therapy. Six years of the same arguments, the same disconnection, the same hurt building quietly beneath the surface.
The good news is that the research is equally clear on this: the right support at the right time can genuinely transform a relationship. Couples therapy isn’t just about stopping the fighting. It’s about understanding what the fighting is actually about, rebuilding the emotional safety that makes real intimacy possible, and learning new ways of connecting that actually stick.
The goal isn’t just to get back to okay. It’s to build a relationship where you both feel affirmed, loved, and truly known.
How Marty Works With Couples
Marty draws on two of the most thoroughly researched approaches in couples therapy and marriage counseling.
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) Developed by Dr. Sue Johnson, EFT helps couples identify the underlying emotional patterns and attachment needs driving conflict and disconnection. Rather than just addressing surface-level communication problems, EFT works with the deeper emotional cycle that keeps couples stuck, helping partners understand what they’re really reaching for in their arguments and build the kind of secure emotional bond that makes lasting change possible.
The Gottman Method Developed by Drs. John and Julie Gottman from decades of research on what makes relationships succeed or fail, the Gottman Method gives couples practical, evidence-based tools for managing conflict, deepening friendship, and building shared meaning. Marty may use the Gottman Relationship Checkup assessment to give you a detailed, data-informed picture of your relationship’s strengths and areas for growth.
Together these approaches help you identify the patterns keeping you stuck and build a stronger, more secure foundation, one that can hold the weight of real life together.
Research-Backed Assessments for Couples
In addition to therapy, Marty uses clinically validated assessment tools to give couples a clearer picture of where they are and where they want to go:
SYMBIS (Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts) A comprehensive premarital and early marriage assessment that helps couples understand each other’s personalities, expectations, and potential friction points before they become entrenched problems.
Prepare-Enrich One of the most widely used premarital and marriage assessment tools available, Prepare-Enrich generates a personalized couple profile covering communication, conflict resolution, financial management, family of origin, and more.
Gottman Relationship Checkup A detailed online assessment covering the key dimensions of relationship health identified through decades of Gottman research, used to guide and focus the therapeutic work.
What to Expect in Couples Therapy
Step 1: A Free Consultation Call A brief, no-cost phone call to talk through what you’re experiencing and whether couples therapy is the right fit for where your relationship is right now. There’s no pressure and no commitment required.
Step 2: Initial Assessment Sessions The first few sessions are focused on understanding your relationship history, identifying key patterns and themes, and clarifying what you both want from the work. Both partners will have space to share their perspective.
Step 3: Active Therapeutic Work This is where the real work happens. Drawing on EFT, the Gottman Method, and relevant assessments, Marty will help you and your partner understand the cycles keeping you stuck, develop new ways of communicating and connecting, and build the emotional safety that makes intimacy possible.
Step 4: Integration and Ongoing Support As the work progresses, you’ll notice changes in how you interact, how you repair after conflict, and how connected you feel to each other. Therapy continues to support those changes and address new material as it surfaces.
Ways to Work Together
Couples therapy and marriage counseling are available in several formats depending on your needs and how quickly you want to create change.
Weekly Couples Therapy Online throughout California and Texas, or in person at Marty’s private office in Petaluma, California. Consistent weekly sessions that build momentum and create steady progress over time.
Couples Therapy Intensives For couples who want to do concentrated work in a shorter period of time, a therapy intensive compresses the equivalent of months of weekly sessions into one or two focused days. Available as a 3-hour virtual session, a 6-hour single day, or a 12-hour two-day intensive. Particularly effective for couples in crisis, navigating betrayal, or feeling stuck in patterns that weekly therapy hasn’t been able to shift. [Learn more about Couples Therapy Intensives →]
Couples Therapy Retreats at Wildwood Ranch A private Friday through Sunday couples retreat at Wildwood Ranch in Garden Valley, California. An immersive therapeutic experience in a peaceful natural setting in the Sierra foothills, with lodging and meals included. For couples who want to step fully out of daily life and do sustained, uninterrupted work together. [Learn more about Couples Therapy Retreats at Wildwood Ranch →]
Work With Someone Who Understands Relationships Deeply
Marty is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with more than 30 years of experience helping couples navigate some of the hardest seasons a relationship can face, from chronic conflict and emotional disconnection to betrayal, trauma, and the unique pressures of cross-cultural living.
He also brings international experience serving as a therapist, pastor, and chaplain in Africa with a global hospital organization, giving him a firsthand understanding of the relational strain that comes from high-stress environments, major transitions, and cross-cultural differences.
This is grounded, compassionate couples therapy that takes both of you seriously.
[Learn more about Marty and his approach →]
Common Questions About Couples Therapy and Marriage Counseling
Most couples therapy sessions involve both partners together. Occasionally Marty may meet with each partner individually as part of the assessment process. This will be discussed openly from the beginning so both partners understand the approach.
This is very common. Sometimes one partner is more ready than the other. If your partner is hesitant, the free consultation is a low-pressure way to explore whether this feels like a good fit before making any commitment.
Research supports the effectiveness of online couples therapy. Many couples find that the convenience of working from home actually reduces barriers to showing up consistently, which is one of the most important factors in therapeutic progress.
Absolutely. Couples therapy and marriage counseling are equally relevant for dating couples, engaged couples, long-term partners, and married couples at any stage. The relationship patterns that matter most don't require a marriage license to show up.
Premarital counseling is therapeutic work focused on building a strong foundation before marriage. Ideally couples begin three to six months before their wedding date, though it's never too early or too late to invest in the health of your relationship.
In Marty's experience, it's rarely too late if both partners are willing to show up. Couples who have been in significant distress for years have rebuilt trust, connection, and genuine intimacy through this work. The consultation is the place to have an honest conversation about where you are and what's realistic.
Individual therapy focuses on one person's inner world, history, and patterns. Couples therapy focuses on the relationship itself, the dynamic between two people, including how each partner's patterns interact with and affect the other. Both can be valuable and they often complement each other well.
Your Relationship Is Worth Fighting For
Hard seasons don’t have to be the end of the story.
Whether you’re navigating a specific crisis, trying to find your way back to each other after drifting apart, or simply wanting to build something stronger before you get married, couples therapy can help you get there.
You’ve already taken the first step by being here. The next one is simple.
Schedule a Free Consultation
