Expert counseling to help you rebuild connection, resolve conflict, and create a stronger, more fulfilling relationship
Our experienced therapists and family therapist associates provide compassionate couples counseling for partners seeking to heal their relationships, improve communication, and rediscover joy together.
Strengthen Your Relationship Through Couples Counseling
Every relationship faces challenges over the course of time. Whether you’re dealing with trust issues, communication breakdowns, ongoing conflict, or simply feeling disconnected from your partner, couples therapy offers a path forward.
At The Terrebonne Group in New Orleans, our dedicated therapists provide marriage counseling and couples therapy that helps partners understand each other more deeply, develop better coping skills, and rebuild the connection that brought them together.
Our approach to couples counseling goes beyond surface-level solutions. We help couples explore the underlying patterns, history, and emotions that fuel disagreements and distance. Through this deeper understanding, partners develop the skills and insights needed to heal their relationships and create lasting change. Whether you’re navigating a specific crisis or seeking to strengthen an already good relationship, our therapists are here to support your journey toward greater intimacy, trust, and happiness.
We understand that reaching out for couples therapy takes courage. Our counselors create a confidential, non-judgmental space where both individuals feel heard, respected, and supported as you work together to resolve concerns and build a healthier partnership.
Is Couples Counseling Right for Your Relationship?
Couples therapy can benefit relationships at any stage—from new partnerships navigating early challenges to long-term marriages seeking renewal. You might benefit from couples counseling if you're experiencing:
Communication Difficulties
- Frequent misunderstandings or feeling unheard by your partner
- Conversations that quickly escalate into arguments or conflict
- Difficulty expressing your needs, emotions, or concerns effectively
- One or both partners shutting down or withdrawing during disagreements
Trust Issues & Betrayal
- Healing and recovery from infidelity, affairs, or emotional betrayal
- Difficulty rebuilding trust after broken promises, repeated lies, or deception
- Ongoing suspicion, jealousy, or constant need for reassurance and validation
- Patterns of secrecy, lack of transparency, or withholding information from each other
Considering Separation or Divorce
- Contemplating divorce but wanting to explore all options first
- Frequent thoughts about leaving the relationship
- Feeling stuck between staying and going
- Wanting to determine if the relationship can be saved
Ongoing Conflict & Disagreements
- Repetitive arguments about the same issues without resolution
- Inability to compromise or find solutions that work for both partners
- Feelings of resentment or anger that won't go away
- Constant tension or walking on eggshells around each other
Intimacy & Connection Concerns
- Decreased physical or emotional intimacy
- Feeling more like roommates than romantic partners
- Loss of affection, romance, or sexual connection
- Feeling emotionally distant or disconnected from your partner
Life Transitions & External Stress
- Adjusting to major life changes such as becoming parents, career shifts, or relocation
- Managing stress from external pressures affecting the relationship
- Differences in how partners cope with challenges or unexpected events
- Struggling to maintain connection during difficult times
Is Couples Counseling Right for Your Relationship?
Couples therapy can benefit relationships at any stage—from new partnerships navigating early challenges to long-term marriages seeking renewal. You might benefit from couples counseling if you're experiencing:
Communication
Difficulties
- Frequent misunderstandings or feeling unheard by your partner
- Conversations that quickly escalate into arguments or conflict
- Difficulty expressing your needs, emotions, or concerns effectively
- One or both partners shutting down or withdrawing during disagreements
Trust Issues
& Betrayal
- Healing and recovery from infidelity, affairs, or emotional betrayal
- Difficulty rebuilding trust after broken promises, repeated lies, or deception
- Ongoing suspicion, jealousy, or constant need for reassurance and validation
- Patterns of secrecy, lack of transparency, or withholding information from each other
Considering Separation
or Divorce
- Contemplating divorce but wanting to explore all options first
- Frequent thoughts about leaving the relationship
- Feeling stuck between staying and going
- Wanting to determine if the relationship can be saved
Ongoing Conflict & Disagreements
- Repetitive arguments about the same issues without resolution
- Inability to compromise or find solutions that work for both partners
- Feelings of resentment or anger that won't go away
- Constant tension or walking on eggshells around each other
Intimacy &
Connection Concerns
- Decreased physical or emotional intimacy
- Feeling more like roommates than romantic partners
- Loss of affection, romance, or sexual connection
- Feeling emotionally distant or disconnected from your partner
Life Transitions & External Stress
- Adjusting to major life changes such as becoming parents, career shifts, or relocation
- Managing stress from external pressures affecting the relationship
- Differences in how partners cope with challenges or unexpected events
- Struggling to maintain connection during difficult times
How We Approach Couples Counseling
At The Terrebonne Group, our marriage counseling and couples therapy integrates evidence-based approaches with deep respect for each couple’s unique history, culture, and relationship dynamics. We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, we tailor our approach to help each couple address their specific concerns and build on their existing strengths.
Creating a Safe, Balanced Space
Our therapists strive to create an environment where both partners feel equally heard and supported. We maintain neutrality while helping each individual understand their partner’s perspective and their own role in relationship patterns. This balanced approach allows couples to explore difficult topics with more trust and less defensiveness.
Understanding Patterns & History
We help couples recognize the repetitive patterns that create conflict and disconnection in their relationships. By exploring how past experiences, family history, and learned behaviors influence current dynamics, partners gain insight into why certain issues feel so charged and difficult to resolve. This understanding opens the door to making different, healthier choices.
Building Effective Tools & Skills
Through couples counseling, partners learn practical communication skills, conflict resolution strategies, and better coping skills for managing stress and emotions. Our therapists teach couples how to express needs clearly, listen actively, manage disagreements constructively, and create more trust and intimacy in daily life.
Honoring Your Relationship’s Strengths
Even in distressed relationships, there are strengths to build upon. We help couples reconnect with what initially drew them together, identify what still works well, and use these positive aspects as a foundation for healing and growth.
Our Couples Therapist
Couples therapy at The Terrebonne Group is provided by Dorian Rolston, LCSW, who works from a psychodynamic perspective using the therapeutic relationship as a foundation for healing and growth. He specializes in helping couples understand the patterns keeping them stuck, navigate ongoing conflicts, and rebuild connection.
Dorian Rolston
Dorian offers couples therapy using a psychodynamic approach that explores how each partner's history and experiences shape their relationship patterns. He specializes in working with couples dealing with ongoing conflict, attachment concerns, and the impact of family history on current relationships.
What Couples Gain From Counseling
When couples engage fully in the therapy process, they often experience:
- Improved ability to communicate about difficult topics without escalation
- Greater understanding of each partner’s needs, emotions, and perspectives
- More effective tools for resolving conflict and managing disagreements
- Increased sense of emotional safety and trust in the relationship
- Better coping skills for managing external stress that affects the partnership
- Renewed intimacy, connection, and joy in the relationship
- Clarity about whether to continue working on the relationship or separate respectfully
The benefits of couples counseling extend beyond the relationship itself. Partners often find that the skills they learn in therapy help them cope more effectively with challenges in other areas of life, including relationships with children, family members, and colleagues.
Begin Your Journey Toward a Stronger Relationship
Reaching out for couples counseling takes courage and represents hope for your relationship. Whether you're in crisis or simply want to strengthen your connection, our therapists in New Orleans are here to help you and your partner understand each other more deeply, resolve conflict more effectively, and create the relationship you both desire.
Contact The Terrebonne Group today to schedule your couples therapy consultation either in-person at our New Orleans office or through teletherapy, available throughout Louisiana.
Ready to Begin?
Frequently-Asked Questions About Couples Therapy
How do we know if we need couples therapy?
If you're repeatedly having the same arguments, feeling disconnected from your partner, struggling with trust, or considering separation, couples counseling can help. Many couples also seek therapy not because their relationship is in crisis, but because they want to strengthen their connection and prevent future problems. The fact that you're asking this question suggests that couples therapy might be beneficial.
What if my partner doesn't want to come to therapy?
It's common for one partner to be more motivated for couples counseling than the other. While couples therapy works best when both individuals are engaged, even if your partner is hesitant, reaching out to discuss your concerns can be a helpful first step. Sometimes one partner's willingness to begin the process can help the other partner feel more comfortable joining. In some cases, individual therapy can also help you navigate relationship challenges.
How long does couples therapy take?
The length of couples counseling varies based on your concerns and goals. Some couples see significant improvement in 3-6 months of regular sessions, while others benefit from longer-term work to heal deeper relationship wounds and create lasting change. Your therapist will discuss realistic expectations during your initial consultation and regularly review progress together.
Can couples therapy save our relationship?
Couples therapy provides the space, support, and effective tools needed for relationships to heal and grow. However, the outcome depends on both partners' commitment to the process and willingness to make changes. Some couples use therapy to successfully rebuild their relationships, while others gain clarity that separation is the healthiest choice. Either outcome represents progress toward a better life.
Is what we discuss in couples therapy confidential?
Yes, couples counseling is confidential. Your therapist will not share information about your sessions without your consent, except in rare legally mandated situations (such as risk of serious harm). However, it's important to understand that confidentiality in couples therapy is shared between both partners—your therapist cannot keep secrets from one partner on behalf of the other.
