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Kimberly Schildbach Therapy

Online Couples Therapy and Discernment Counseling in Washington, Massachusetts, Connecticut, & Florida.

Couples Therapy in Vancouver, Washington

There is more to your relationship than the pain you're living in right now.

Happy couple embracing outdoors at sunset.

At one point you were a team. Now you’re worried you’ll never see eye-to-eye again.

Does this sound like you?

Conversations turn into arguments before you even realize what happened. You keep circling the same fights, both of you feeling unheard, misunderstood, and exhausted.

There’s a growing distance between you - less closeness, less warmth, and more silence. You miss the connection you used to have, but you don’t know how to reach each other without it going wrong.

Trust feels fragile after hurt, betrayal, or repeated disappointments. One or both of you may feel guarded, resentful, or unsure whether it’s safe to hope for something different.

You still care deeply, but you’re scared that love alone isn’t enough. You may be wondering whether to keep trying - or whether the relationship can actually change.

If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. Online couples therapy in Vancouver, WA is the right intervention to help you find your way back to each other.

We get to the root - not just the argument

Most couples are caught up in the details of the fight. I help you get underneath that - to the emotions shaping how each of you protects, pursues, or shuts down - so the conflict finally starts to make sense. When the pattern makes sense, you’re no longer fighting each other - you’re facing the cycle together.

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We look closely at how you repair - or don’t

It’s not always the conflict itself that does the damage; it’s what happens after. I pay close attention to how you try to reconnect, where repair breaks down, and what gets in the way of each of you reaching out and making amends. From there, we build new ways to come back to each other that actually work.

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I help you understand what’s happening inside - so you can reach differently

When couples can name what’s happening internally - fear, longing, shutdown, anger - and really feel it live in session - everything shifts. Then you can share your inner process with your partner and practice reaching for each other in ways that feel more open and real.

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When there’s been infidelity or sexual secrecy

If there has been betrayal, infidelity, or sexual secrecy, we start by helping you develop a shared understanding of what happened. I focus first on creating enough emotional safety for the hurting partner to talk about the impact - what it felt like to be blindsided by the pain. 

If you were the one who broke trust, I help you take in your partner’s pain without getting defensive or shutting down. When you can take in even a small piece of that pain, genuine remorse becomes possible - and your partner begins to feel felt.

From there, I will lead the partner who turned out to responsibly and carefully talk about what led them to turn away from your partner in the first place - without excused or defense. 

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This is structured, focused work

Specialized couples therapy isn’t about venting or endlessly rehashing the past. It’s not “fight-of-the-week” therapy. I use a clear, research-backed approach (EFT) that helps couples in real distress find a steady way forward, tackling issues in their relationship - together.

How Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy Brings Couples Together Again

Couples Therapy in Vancouver, Washington

Couple at the Beach

FAQs about Couples Therapy in Vancouver, Washington

What if we keep having the same fight every week?

If you’re having the same fight every week, it’s not about content of the fight itself - it’s about the pattern underneath. You’re both showing up from the same old fear, hurt, or unmet need, and the cycle keeps running you over. The good news? Once you see the pattern clearly, you stop being trapped by it - and that’s where real change starts. I help couples break the loop, understand what each person is really feeling, and practice reaching for each other in ways that actually land.

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Will you take sides?

No. I don’t work from a “good guy / bad guy” framework - because relationships aren’t about blame, they’re about patterns. Every interaction happens with both of you, and every conflict is shaped by what each of you brings to the moment. My focus in session is on helping each of you understand and name your own emotional experience, so you can share it with your partner in a way that’s vulnerable. I don’t defend, lecture, or judge - I help you see each other clearly and break the cycles that keep pulling you apart.

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What if one of us is more invested than the other?

If one of you is leaning out while the other is would like to fix your relationship, jumping straight into therapy can feel like more pressure and more uncertainty. This is where Discernment Counseling becomes the right step. Discernment Counseling is a structured, time-limited process (usually 1–5 sessions) where I will meet with each of you individually and together. I will help you consider all of your options so you can make a decision—maintain the status quo, move toward divorce, or commit to six months of couples therapy with divorce off the table - from a place of careful consideration rather than reactivity.

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Can couples therapy help after infidelity or sexual secrecy?

Absolutely - yes. Even if right now it doesn't feel possible, trust can return. Please see my infidelity page.

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What actually happens in a couples therapy session?

This isn’t “fight-of-the-week” therapy. Sessions are structured and focused so you actually make progress instead of replaying the same arguments. We slow things down, track what’s happening emotionally for each of you, and practice new ways of responding in real time. Venting to me is fine—but blame and finger-pointing aren’t productive. When that comes up, I help you both put words to what’s really happening in your hearts, so the conversation doesn’t damage the relationship further and you start learning how to connect differently.

Couples Therapy in Vancouver, Washington

I provide online couples therapy for residents throughout Vancouver, including:

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Downtown Vancouver - Uptown Village - Esther Short - Arnada - Hough - Lincoln - Carter Park - Shumway - Rose Village - Fourth Plain Village - Harney Heights - Fruit Valley - Bagley Downs - Burnt Bridge Creek - Cascade Park - Fishers Landing - Fishers Creek - Hearthwood - Fircrest - Orchards - Walnut Grove - Five Corners - Hazel Dell - Salmon Creek - Felida - Minnehaha - Ridgefield - Battle Ground - Camas - Washougal​​

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Also providing online couples therapy for infidelity and affair recovery throughout Washington state.

Logo for Kimberly Schildbach Therapy.

100% online services in Massachusetts LMHC #6755, Connecticut CPC #8256,

Washington LMHC #61689893, and

Florida LMHC #TPMC5433.

Logo for the International Center for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy.

Kimberly Schildbach Therapy

Online Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy and Discernment Counseling.​

Kimberly Schildbach is a Certified Discernment Counselor and this is the badge.

No mail accepted at this address: 1089 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, MA 02215

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