Marriage Counseling

Trust, intimacy, communication -- breakdowns in any of these can make satisfying long-term relationships difficult to sustain. I can help you explore the obstacles to a fulfilling partnership, and discuss frequent problems that occur, such as lack of transparency about money; differences in sexual desire; imbalances in division of labor; the push-pull between needing to be one's one person and needing to feel at-one with another.

With the stress and pace of modern life, cultivating and maintaining a healthy relationship takes intentional work on both sides. Dennis Smith, CPC-I, at Adonai Counseling & Consulting, PLLC, in Las Vegas, Nevada, specializes in relationship counseling. Known for his ability to stay neutral, Dennis provides marriage counseling, couples counseling, and friendship counseling. Call the office or book an appointment online to get started. In-person and telehealth appointments are available.

As a marriage, couple, and family therapist, I believe relationships are central to our experience of the world. I also believe that we often aren't given the relational tools we need in order to thrive in all relationships. Relationship counseling can be a transformative experience that provides new ways of connecting to yourself and to your partner(s). I typically utilize emotionally focused therapy and experiential therapy when working with couples and relationships.

I specialize in working with relationships and marriage issues in all of their complex forms. Our work together will likely focus on empowering you with excellent communication tools, learning ways to comfortably explore emotions, and developing skills in establishing and maintaining effective boundaries. This means you will feel confident in letting in the relationships you want, letting go of those that no longer serve you, and in growing the strong relationships you already have.

Family/Couples therapy is a type of psychological counseling (psychotherapy) that can help family members improve communication and resolve conflicts. Family/ Couples therapy can help you improve troubled relationships with your partner, children or other family members. You may address specific issues such as marital/ relational or financial problems, conflict between partners, parents and children, or the impact of substance abuse or a mental illness on the entire family.

No matter the nature of a relationship, connecting fully with another person inevitably brings new challenges including setting boundaries, maintaining one's identity while growing together, addressing conflict, learning to communicate, and so much more. None of us were born knowing exactly how to do any of this. When working with me, we'll use our own relationship as a place to explore these challenges and practice new interpersonal skills that can be brought into your other relationships.

When it comes to working with couples, I training from Level 1 Gottman Method Couples Therapy and EFT to help couples navigate conflict and communication struggles that have caused relational wounds. I also believe all relationships (romantic and platonic) teach us a lot about ourselves, so when I work with individuals, I incorporate what can be learned from relationships both past and present.

I work with a variety of relationship configurations, with individuals, couples and other groupings. I am sex-positive and kink friendly. I work with individuals who are heterosexual, pansexual, or LGBTQ. I have been trained up to Level 2 in the Gottman approach, which is one of the few evidence-based couples therapy approaches. This approaches involves an extensive assessment followed by a very specific treatment plan focused on the here and now experiences of the couple.

As a Marriage and Family Therapist, I have specialized training in some of the most highly regarded, evidence-based approaches to understanding and resolving relational issues. My work with couples focuses on identifying, unpacking and working through the complex patterns that develop between partners, leading to greater happiness and satisfaction in the relationship; deeper, more meaningful connection between partners; and improved communication overall.

I am a trained couples and family therapist who specializes in sex therapy. I work with issues like infidelity, building conflict and communication skills, relational trauma, non-monogamy, sexual desire discrepancy, and exploring sexuality.

We are passionate about helping romantic partners gain new insight and forge better connection. Whether you’re in a traditional or a non-tradition relationship, we can help you navigate towards a stronger, healthier relationship and a more balanced personal perspective. We counsel couples with or without the formality of marriage, whether they are binary, non-binary, LGBTQ, transgender and transitioning, or polyamorous – all love is welcome.

I have advanced training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to help couples create more intimacy in their relationship and break out of painful conflict patterns. Using EFT, I can help you understand the negative relational pattern in which you’re caught. We can then restructure your bond by uncovering your deeper unmet needs and creating a safe haven in which you two can accept the tender and vulnerable places within each other.

Intimate relationships are HARD! It can all get so cluttered, so quickly, leading us to hurt one another deeply. I offer people in relationships specific tools to facilitate clear, respectful and constructive communication that empowers each person to hear and to be heard. I help people grow toward the kind of interdependent relationship that truly values, cherishes and respects each partner.

Relationships are just hard. Two people who often have completely different upbringings, two very different brands, two different personalities, and often competing preferences and needs. Making sense of all of that can be a struggle in even the best of circumstances. Yet many couples make all of that work just fine in the beginning of a relationship. So what changed? I work with couples to implement practical tools to reverse the habits that landed their marriage where they don’t want to be!

As a trained and experienced couples therapist I help couples to grow and create a lasting and fulfilling relationship. Couples therapy can help you to improve your communication with one another, learn skills to navigate conflict more effectively, develop shared goals and a life direction, grow your passion for one another and for life, recover from an affair, navigate substance abuse, recover from trauma and much more.

Maintaining a committed relationship is work, but it is work worth doing. We don't usually learn the skills it takes to maintain committed relationships, so many fall short of our desires. Unfortunately, our tendencies to protect ourselves from hurt often create more problems. Working with an experienced, skilled relationship therapist can help couples restore, or create for the first time, the connected, loving partnership they want.

I am Level 2 trained in the Gottman Method and a Leader of the 7 Principles for Making a Marriage Work workshop. I enjoy working with couples in order to help them change conflict so they can get out of the same old argument, find fondness and admiration for one another and reach a new level of emotional connection.

I help people develop healthy communication strategies, set boundaries, and improve relationships with friends, family, and partners. Some patients come to therapy after a major event has occurred (e.g., divorce, estrangement, death), while others come with the hopes of learning more about their relationship and offering the best version of themselves possible in their relationship. I have extensive experience working at each end of this spectrum, and I enjoy this work immensely.

I am an advanced-trained Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapist, have invested hundreds of hours in training and supervision, and continue to significantly invest in my ongoing learning in order to guide clients to a healthier, happier connection. In addition to my work as en EFT therapist, I have also trained in somatic/body-based/polyvagal approaches, Gottman approaches, structural, and attachment-approaches. I believe I'm never done learning, and adjust my approaches as I continue to learn.