Couples Counseling for Stronger Emotional & Sexual Relationships
In-person couples and sex therapy in Centennial, Colorado, serving the Denver metro area, and online throughout Colorado, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Idaho.
Where can we work together?
I offer couples counseling and sex therapy online throughout Colorado, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Idaho, with in-person sessions available in Centennial, Colorado.
Select your state below to learn more about working together.
Helping You Reconnect, Communicate, and Actually Like Each Other Again
You didn’t think your relationship would feel this hard.
You love each other, but lately, it feels like you’re stuck in a loop of distance, stress, or silence. You miss the connection, the fun, and the feeling of being on the same team.
Careers, kids, laundry, logistics. Somewhere along the way, the relationship took a back seat. Maybe conversations feel tense or surface-level. Little things turn into big fights or long stretches of silence. Sex has become inconsistent, nonexistent, or another source of tension between you.
Or maybe it’s not one big problem at all. It’s the same arguments that never quite get resolved. Resentment that has accumulated over time. Differences in what each of you needs or expects from the relationship. You’ve tried talking about it, promising to do things differently, or just letting things go, only to find yourselves having some version of the same conversation again.
You still love each other very much. You just don’t want to keep doing this version of your relationship.
Frequent arguments (or complete emotional shutdown)
Walking on eggshells and not feeling like you can be really honest with your partner
Differences in sexual desire or sexual disconnection
Differences in parenting, energy levels, or money habits
Religious or faith transitions within the relationship
Feeling more like co-parents or business partners than lovers
A general loss of connection, affection, or fun
Couples Counseling Can Help When You're Struggling With:
Meet Marina Stanton, LMFT, CST
Couples Therapist & AASECT Certified Sex Therapist
I’m Marina Stanton, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, and Gottman Method Level 3 Trained therapist. My practice is focused almost exclusively on couples, particularly when emotional and sexual concerns overlap.
My approach draws heavily from the Gottman Method and the Developmental Model of Couples Therapy. That means we can work on the practical skills that help relationships function better while also paying attention to the differences, histories, experiences, and sexual dynamics each of you brings into the relationship.
I’m active in therapy. I’ll ask questions, point out what I’m noticing, slow you down when a conversation starts going sideways, and challenge both of you when I think it will help. And because my brain works in pictures, there will probably be an analogy, diagram, or weird visual somewhere along the way.
In-Person & Online Couples Counseling
I offer in-person couples counseling and sex therapy at my office in Centennial, Colorado, serving the Denver metro area, including Parker, Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Lone Tree, and surrounding communities.
If coming to the office doesn't work for your schedule or location, I also offer online couples counseling and sex therapy throughout Colorado, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Idaho.
Online sessions allow us to do the same kind of active couples work from wherever you are. You'll need a reliable internet connection and a private place where both of you can participate comfortably.
Ready to get started?
You Don’t Have to Stay Stuck
You don't have to figure this out by yourselves. A free 15-minute consultation gives you a chance to tell me a little about what's bringing you in, ask questions, and see whether my approach feels like a good fit for both of you.
Let's talk.
Frequently Asked Questions About Couples Counseling
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Couples counseling gives us a place to look at what’s actually happening between the two of you when things get hard. That might include communication, recurring conflict, emotional disconnection, resentment, trust, sex, major life transitions, or differences that you haven’t been able to resolve on your own.
I’m interested in more than teaching you a few communication skills. We’ll look at the patterns between you, but also at what each of you brings into those moments, including your histories, expectations, stressors, vulnerabilities, and different ways of experiencing the relationship. Then we can figure out what actually needs to change.
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Definitely not. Many of the couples I work with love each other, function pretty well in everyday life, and have no intention of ending their relationship. They’re just stuck somewhere they haven’t been able to get unstuck on their own.
You also don’t need to wait until your relationship is in crisis. Couples counseling can be useful when you notice the same arguments repeating, feel more like roommates than partners, are struggling with sex or intimacy, or simply know you want your relationship to work better than it currently does.
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I work with married, engaged, and committed couples across a wide range of relationship stages. Some come in because communication or conflict has become difficult. Others are dealing with emotional or sexual disconnection, desire differences, major transitions, longstanding resentment, or differences in values, expectations, or beliefs.
I also have extensive experience working with LDS, religiously conservative, mixed-faith, and faith-transition couples. You don’t have to share my beliefs, or each other’s beliefs, to work with me.
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My job isn’t to decide which one of you is the good guy. And if you’re hoping I’ll confirm that your partner is entirely the problem, I may disappoint you. 😆
I’m paying attention to both of you and to what happens between you. That doesn’t mean pretending every situation is 50/50 or avoiding accountability when someone does something hurtful. It means helping each of you understand your part, communicate more effectively, and make changes that improve the relationship.
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My work draws heavily from the Gottman Method and the Developmental Model of Couples Therapy, along with my training as an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist.
That means therapy with me tends to be active and pretty direct. I’ll ask questions, slow you down when a conversation starts going sideways, point out things I notice, and help you practice doing something different rather than just talking about what happened during the week.
And yes, there will probably be diagrams, analogies, or some other slightly weird visual explanation along the way. Sometimes relationships make considerably more sense once we can actually see what’s happening. 😆
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Yes, and this is one of the areas where my practice is a little different from many couples therapists. I’m both a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, so we don’t have to treat your relationship problems and your sexual relationship as two completely separate things.
We can work directly with concerns involving desire, pleasure, sexual disconnection, sexual anxiety, painful sex, differences in sexual needs or expectations, and difficulty talking about sex. And I don’t assume that fixing emotional communication will magically fix your sex life. Sometimes it helps. Sometimes the sexual relationship needs attention of its own.
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There isn’t one timeline that works for every couple. It depends on what brings you in, how long the problem has been going on, what else is affecting the relationship, and how much change is happening between sessions.
I generally begin with an assessment process so that we’re not jumping into solutions before I understand your relationship. From there, we’ll talk about what I’m seeing, what I recommend we focus on, and what the structure and frequency of therapy should look like for you.
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Both. I offer in-person couples counseling in Centennial, Colorado, serving couples throughout the Denver metro area.
I also provide online couples therapy for clients located in Colorado, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Idaho. For online sessions, each partner needs to be physically located in a state where I’m licensed at the time of the appointment.