Christian Counseling

Relationship therapy for couples of faith

COUNSELING FOR CHRISTIAN COUPLES

BUILDING THE RELATIONSHIP Your HEART DESIRES

Being a Christian doesn’t make us immune to relationship struggles;

With struggle comes opportunity for growth.

Our Approach – When you choose to work with us, your relationship becomes our client. Our Christian Counseling focuses on the growth and development of each of you individually and as a unit. Having a strong sense of self is foundational to creating the deep intimate relationship God desires for your marriage.

Our Training – We are a team of highly skilled therapists with decades of experience not only in couples therapy but also trauma, addiction and other specific therapies such as ART & EMDR.

Your Patterns – It’s a real world challenge to avoid the dysfunctional patterns that become stumbling blocks to the loving, committed marriage your desire. You will learn to recognize the harmful patterns causing stress and conflict in your relationship and more importantly, how to change them.

Your Choice – You can choose to meet with your pro-marriage therapist in-person or virtually, or both. We have offices in Richardson and Frisco, TX and offer online sessions from anywhere.

Create a new vision for your marriage.

Free Discovery Call

WE WORK WITH COUPLES

Frustrated at their inability to communicate
Constantly arguing over the same issues
Reeling from infidelity or betrayal trauma
Unhappy but don’t know how to fix it
Walking on eggshells
Struggling with kids, work, in-laws, and desire differences – just to name a few

Planning to get married or remarried
Blending families
Considering divorce or trying to avoid it
Dealing with the effects of childhood traumas
Feeling more like roommates than lovers
Losing hope for their marriage
Just needing a relationship refresh

Frustrated at their inability to communicate
Constantly arguing over the same issues
Reeling from infidelity or betrayal trauma
Unhappy but don’t know how to fix it
Walking on eggshells
Struggling with kids, work, in-laws, and desire differences – just to name a few
Planning to get married or remarried
Blending families
Considering divorce or trying to avoid it
Dealing with the effects of childhood traumas
Feeling more like roommates than lovers
Losing hope for their marriage
Just needing a relationship refresh

What you can expect from us

Pro-Marriage

Empathy

Truth-Talk

Progress

SEE WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

“They literally helped save my marriage… It’s not one of those ‘So how does this make you feel’ type of counseling. They not only listen, and give feedback, but insist on specific daily exercises to teach you & your partner to communicate (positively) again. It’s not about who’s to blame anymore ~ it’s about moving forward, forgiving & learning to appreciate again!” – S.L

I have learned the most incredible tools from her with her support and beautifully kind words, I navigated a path from the ugliest heartbroken place I’ve ever been to one of peace and COMMUNICATION!

Thank you for not only for helping us save our Marriage but for helping me find my best friend again. You’ll be in our hearts forever.

Praise for The Marriage Place

“They literally helped save my marriage… It’s not one of those ‘So how does this make you feel’ type of counseling. They not only listen, and give feedback, but insist on specific daily exercises to teach you & your partner to communicate (positively) again. It’s not about who’s to blame anymore ~ it’s about moving forward, forgiving & learning to appreciate again!” – S.L

I have learned the most incredible tools from her with her support and beautifully kind words, I navigated a path from the ugliest heartbroken place I’ve ever been to one of peace and COMMUNICATION!

Thank you for not only for helping us save our Marriage but for helping me find my best friend again. You’ll be in our hearts forever.

A MESSAGE FROM KIM BOWEN, LPC-S

OWNER/FOUNDER, THE MARRIAGE PLACE

One of the questions I am routinely asked is if we offer Christian Counseling. It’s a great question and one that I always answer with more than a simple ‘yes’. After all, the phrase “Christian Counseling” can mean so many different things depending on who you ask.

I believe you should know what to expect when you decide to entrust us to help you with your most important earthly relationship. One thing we are not is the Christian counselor who is just going to tell you to have more sex, go on regular dates nights and stay in scripture. While each of those can be great (really great!) for your marriage, we believe you need more to create and maintain a healthy marriage.

At The Marriage Place you can expect sound, science-based, research-proven therapy delivered by a qualified Christian therapist. Our personal faith fuels our passion for this work; however we serve a very faith-diverse clientele and believe it is our client who should always determine what role, if any, faith plays in their therapy experience. For our Christian clients who wish to incorporate faith as part of our innovative approach to couples therapy, we welcome that opportunity! Let us know your preference at the time of booking so that we can get you matched with one of our Christian therapists who offer this service.

Our vision is to help you realize it is a lot easier to work on the marriage you have than it is to get out and start over alone or with someone new. We believe most marriages can be saved if you are willing to put in the work, and we can show you how.

Kim

HAVE QUESTIONS?

Schedule A Free 15-Minute Discovery Call

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHAT ARE YOUR COUNSELING RATES?

Our rates are based on the length of the session and the counselor with whom you are working. 50-minute sessions with a fully licensed therapist start at $195. 80-minute sessions start at $315. The first session for a couple is generally scheduled for 80-minutes, whereas follow-up sessions may be scheduled for either 50 or 80-minutes. Individual sessions are typically 50-minutes. We also offer sessions with LPC/LMFT Associates or Masters Level Interns at significantly reduced rates. If cost is a concern, please reach out to discuss pricing in greater detail. We do our best to find an option that works for you.

DO YOU TAKE INSURANCE?

The Marriage Place is considered an out-of-network provider for insurance purposes and we do not process insurance benefit claims in our office. While we do not accept insurance or participate in various in various Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), many of our clients choose to submit a claim for reimbursement directly with their insurance provider. We assist in this process by providing on their receipts the additional documentation generally required by the insurance companies.

If you are unsure if you have out-of-network benefits or wish to confirm if our services are eligible for reimbursement under your plan, we recommend you contact your insurance company. Ask if your plan offers mental health benefits including counseling, and if so, what services are covered, at what reimbursement rate and whether you need to first meet a deductible.

If you plan to file with your insurance, please let us know. If you have an FSA or HSA card, we are also happy to accept it for payment.

WE’VE TRIED MARRIAGE THERAPY BEFORE. WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT?

The quick answer is, if you want to improve your relationship, you keep trying until you find something that works. It’s not unusual for our clients to have tried several other counselors before finding The Marriage Place. We don’t just take you as our client, we take your marriage. We aren’t looking to bandage your relationship. We help you understand how you got to where you are today, why you respond to each other the way you do, and most importantly, how you can make lasting change moving forward. This isn’t easy work, but we are passionate about it. Couples therapy accounts for more than 90% of our counselors’ work and we are good at it.

WHAT IF I WANT TO COME IN FOR COUPLES THERAPY, BUT MY PARTNER DOES NOT?

Great question – come anyway! We recommend you don’t beg and plead for your spouse to come (usually doesn’t work and definitely doesn’t help). Instead, come by yourself and come ready to focus on what you can control – and that’s you. We can teach you how to change your relationship – and potentially change your spouse’s attitude towards working on the relationship – simply by focusing on your ‘side of the street’.

WHAT IF THERE HAS BEEN AN AFFAIR? CAN MY MARRIAGE BE SAVED?

Yes. In fact, most marriages heal after infidelity. Though we won’t sugar coat this and tell you it will be easy (it won’t be), it is very possible to rebuild the foundation of a relationship and learn to trust each other again. An affair causes significant damage to the relationship and to the partner who was not unfaithful. The partner who cheated is not unscathed either, likely carrying loads of guilt and shame for the damage done by the infidelity. Damage control and repair work must be addressed before moving forward together. We suggest Shirley Glass’s book: Not Just Friends: Rebuilding Trust and Recovering Your Sanity After Infidelity as a companion piece to the work you will do with us.

ARE YOU GOING TO TELL ME I HAVE TO STAY MARRIED?

No. We believe the only people qualified to say if your marriage can be saved – and if you should stay married – are the two of you IN your marriage. Our job is to help you sort through your thoughts and feelings, examine how you each currently show up in the relationship (and why), and shine the light on the path towards positive change. It will always be your choice as to whether you stay married – or get divorced.

Are you going to tell me to get divorced?

No. That is not for us to decide. We believe the only people qualified to decide whether you do, or don’t, stay married are the two of you IN your marriage. We view marriage is a covenant relationship and we are pro-marriage. We will take your relationship as our client just as we do the two of you. And, we absolutely hate divorce because we see the damage it does. We believe most marriages can be saved, but know not every marriage will or even should be saved. For example, when there is untreated addiction, affairs or abuse, we do not want someone to ever feel they have to stay in that marriage. If a couple comes in and one spouse is being abused (emotionally, physically or sexually) by the other, we may – depending on the severity of the abuse – recommend the couple separate and each to do individual counseling before trying to work on the relationship as a couple.

WILL THERAPY MAKE THINGS WORSE?

The truth is, sometimes therapy does make things more stressful in the beginning. We often warn clients to expect it to get harder before it gets better. Why? Because you are likely going to be ‘stirring the pot’ by addressing issues that may have been ignored for some time. You will also be learning new skills that can bring about positive change, and any change – whether it be positive or negative – can be hard at first. Think about how you feel after working out for the first time in months. You are sore, but with that soreness comes the understanding that you are making progress and will be stronger and healthier because of it. Therapy works. We’ve seen couples come in and make life-changing progress.

DO YOU ONLY WORK WITH COUPLES? …AND DO YOU HAVE TO BE MARRIED?

No and No! We work with both couples and individuals, and both married and unmarried. We work with those never married, those thinking about getting married, and those thinking about not staying married. We also work with a lot of couples and individuals who desperately want to learn how to do ‘married life’ better. I think you get the picture!

DO YOU ONLY WORK WITH CHRISTIANS?

No. Our personal faith fuels our passion for this work; however we serve a very faith-diverse clientele and believe it is our client who should always determine what role, if any, faith plays in their therapy experience. We actually have a very faith-diverse client base and enjoy working with clients of all faiths. Our therapy model is science-based and research-proven and suitable for all clients regardless of their faith background.

For our Christian clients who want to incorporate our shared faith into the therapy process we welcome the opportunity to do so. Likewise, for clients who do not want faith to play an active role in their work with us, it will not. This is especially important for our clients where one spouse is concerned that a faith-based approach will be a roadblock to their spouse’s participation.

If you would like your Christian faith to play a role in your therapy process with us, please let us know at at the time of booking and we will be sure to match you with one of our Christian therapists who offer this service.