About Ashley Marie Eckstein
Helping couples reconnect and heal through Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy.
Ashley Marie also helps dating, engaged, and committed couples through premarital counseling, couples therapy, and does grief work with couples and individuals.
Couples Dealing with high conflict
Relationships are hard. But change never happens in isolation. Deep down, we all
are chasing after the same thing: connection. Intimate connection with another
human being can be terrifying; you have to take risks and make yourself vulnerable, but if you’re willing to put in the work, the outcome can be life changing.
COUPLE RELATIONSHIPS
I am for your relationship. I don’t take sides because I am partnering with you both for the good of your relationship. I can teach you techniques and strategies to help communication go more smoothly, but you have to be willing to put in the work to create an amazing relationship. The real work is learning to be vulnerable. I'm here to metaphorically hold your hand and help you take those steps in vulnerability to grow intimacy in your couple relationship.
Vulnerability is scary, but with my help, you won't have to do it alone.
GRIEF WORK WITH COUPLES
Grief is hard enough to walk through alone, but navigating grief with a partner can be especially tricky. When grieving a miscarriage, the death of a parent, or loss of any loved one, you will likely each grieve differently and I would be honored to walk through the grieving process with you in a way that strengthens your bond with each other. When emotions run high, I can still handle your pain.
premarital counseling
If you’re considering getting married, this is one of the biggest decisions you’ll ever make. Why go at that alone? I would love to walk you through premarital counseling that brings to light things you may not have even thought to ask each other. We will talk about the big ones: sex, money, communication, in-laws, and children. But I will also help you both discover how your own families of origin will impact your own marriage. If you didn’t have the best marital examples growing up, let me teach you how to avoid making those same mistakes. If you are getting married, I don’t want you to just learn how to avoid divorce, but how to be glad you’re together many decades later.
PRIORITIZING THE SEXUAL HEALTH OF YOUR RELATIONSHIP
I want you to have an incredible sex life. We are all sexual creatures and deserve satisfying sex lives. But it doesn’t come easily. Female orgasm can be elusive. Sexual desire discrepancies are very common. If you grew up in Purity Culture and are now sexually active, flipping the switch to believe sex is not “dirty” can be challenging. I want to help you and your partner work towards a mutually satisfying sex life in a safe, and non-judgmental way. Your personal beliefs and values will be honored throughout the process.
FAQ
How often do we need to come to therapy?
I prefer to see my couples and individuals weekly, especially in the initial stages so we can get some traction. Once we’ve worked together long enough to identify patterns and work on shifting them, sessions can drop down to less frequently, but coming to therapy is like working out: you’re not going to see your gains if you only come once a month. Also, consistency and a willingness to put in the work is key!
What happens in the first few sessions with you?
This looks a little different for couples and individuals. For couples, in our initial session, I’m asking questions about the couple dynamic and looking for places they could be getting stuck. The next two sessions I spend one on one with each partner, hearing about their younger years since messages we get growing up impact our adult relationships. Then in session four I’m working to track the negative cycle hurting the couple. My “agenda” for these first 4 sessions sets the groundwork for everything else we will do moving forward.
How long does it take to experience results?
I’m not going to lie, couples therapy takes time. Research shows it can take 18-20 sessions to feel a shift in the relationship. It can take even longer if couples are resistant to being vulnerable with each other. My couples that stick with me longer than 20 weekly sessions are the ones that end up dropping down to once a month for maintenance, and still love coming because they aren’t in crisis anymore! Now they are just get stronger and feeling the benefits in their relationship.
Ashley Marie is supervised by Liz Higgins, LMFT-S.
