- Finding yourself in personality clashes with your partner, including not seeing eye to eye about money, sex, in-laws, or child-rearing?
- Tired of the same hurtful patterns such that you experience your partner as needy, distant, critical, or defensive?
- Reeling from an emotional or physical affair that has left you and your partner at a loss about how to heal and move forward?
- Struggling to adjust to a new life transition, such as bringing home baby, career changes, or empty nest?
- Missing that old spark that used to bring you such passion and joy?
Nothing can be more distressing than when our marriage or partnership has become a constant source of conflict and loneliness rather than the safe haven we anticipated enjoying for a lifetime. We all long to be seen and loved by our partners for who we really are, and need to know we can count on each other through the ups and downs of life.
Specialties
- Couple Intimacy & Conflict
- Transition to Parenthood
- Emotional & Physical Affairs
- Relational Healing from Substance Abuse
- Dating & Pre-marital Concerns
- LGBTQIA Relationships
- Corporate Couples
- Immigration Experiences
- Couple Therapy Intensive Weekends
HeartLink Counseling assists couples in navigating these difficult “stuck” moments by guiding couples through new experiences of connection in the therapy room. With both compassion and direction, we help couples move deeper than basic communication skills into a place where each partner is seen and felt. We work from the Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) model in which Amanda is fully certified to help couples break out of painful patterns of conflict and disconnection and create deeply secure bonds of lasting love. Maria also has extensive training in The Gottman Method to help couples.
As LGBTQIA-affirming therapists, HeartLink has a special passion for helping both gay and straight couples create and enjoy love and affection in their relationships. We welcome the chance to be your guide in strengthening the foundation of one of the most important relationships in your life.
Services offered in English and Spanish.
Having your wounds kissed by someone who doesn’t see them as disasters in your soul but cracks to put their love into is the most calming thing in the world. ~Emery Allen
What is EFT?
Developed by Dr. Sue Johnson, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is different from standard couple therapy in that it focuses on sustainable change rather than surface or “band-aid” approaches. EFT is based on adult attachment theory and is designed to help couples break through hurtful and disconnected ways of interacting to improve intimacy and create deep and lasting satisfaction in the relationship.
EFT is both created and supported by the highest research standards. Studies with distressed couples found that:
- 90% of couples reported significant improvement in their relationship
- 70-73% reported complete absence of distress at the end of therapy
- Trends indicated relationships continued to improve after therapy ended
When in EFT therapy you will find us slowing down moments of conflict and disconnection to help you understand what’s happening beneath the surface. We guide couples in putting their unique experiences into words and sharing in vulnerable rather than reactive ways. Over time, couples find more space for compassion, compromise, and a sustaining connection.
Amanda is fully Certified as an Emotionally Focused Therapist (EFT), having completed a vigorous training process with nationally renowned trainers, including Michael Barnett and Dr. Marlene Best. She is the Secretary and a Founding Boarding Member for The Atlanta Center for EFT. She speaks about attachment and EFT in the local community.
Maria is extensively trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) under the education of Michael Barnett and the supervision of Amanda Carver. She is passionate about this therapy model, and excels at integrating this training into her practice with couples and families. She is also trained in The Gottman Method and Prepare-Enrich Premarital Counseling.