Couples Therapy in Puerto Vallarta
I work with couples in English and Spanish, in person in Fluvial Vallarta or by video call. Sessions run 50 minutes and both partners attend. Common reasons people come in: the same argument on repeat, the strain of relocating together, or the sense of having drifted into being roommates.
Most couples don’t come in because of one big rupture. They come in because the same argument keeps happening, worded slightly differently each time, and neither of them can remember how it starts anymore.
What brings couples in
- The same conflict on repeat, with no resolution and growing resentment.
- Communication that has turned into either silence or escalation, with nothing in between.
- A breach of trust — infidelity, a hidden debt, a decision made alone.
- Living together as roommates: functional, cordial, no longer close.
- Disagreements about children, money or family that never get settled.
- The strain of having relocated: one of you wanted the move more than the other, and the imbalance never got discussed.
- Deciding whether to continue, and wanting to do it without destroying what’s left.
The relocation strain
I see this often in Puerto Vallarta and it deserves naming, because couples rarely arrive describing it this way.
When two people move to another country, the move is almost never equally chosen. One partner led it; the other agreed. Once here, that asymmetry shows up in ordinary things — who has the language, who made friends first, who has work that gives them a structure and who lost theirs. The couple ends up arguing about logistics when the real subject is that one of them gave up more than they expected to.
Naming that out loud usually changes the conversation.
How the sessions work
We work with what happens between you, in the room. I’m interested in the pattern more than in the content of any single argument: who moves first, who withdraws, what each of you is protecting.
I draw mainly on systemic family therapy — the approach that studies relationships as systems rather than as two individuals side by side — along with person-centered and cognitive behavioral tools when they help.
Both partners attend. Occasionally I’ll ask for an individual session with each, and what’s said there stays confidential in the way clinical practice requires.
Practical details
- Session length: 50 minutes.
- Languages: English, Spanish, or both within the same session.
- In person: my office in Fluvial Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta.
- Online: by video call — useful when one of you travels or spends part of the year elsewhere.
- Booking: message me on WhatsApp and tell me briefly what’s going on. I answer personally.
Frequently asked questions
Do we both have to come?
For couples therapy, yes — the work happens between the two of you, and I need to see how you interact, not just hear each account separately. If one of you isn't willing yet, individual therapy is a reasonable place to start, and sometimes the other joins later.
What if we speak different first languages?
That's common here, and it's workable. I'm fluent in English and Spanish, so each of you can speak in whichever language you think in. Couples often discover that certain conversations only became difficult because one partner was always translating.
Will you take sides?
No. My work isn't to decide who's right — it's to make visible the pattern the two of you are repeating. Most couples arrive convinced the problem is the other person; what usually turns out to be true is that both are responding to something neither has named.
Is it too late if we've been like this for years?
Time isn't the deciding factor. What matters more is whether both of you still want the relationship to work. Couples come in after two years and after twenty, and the length of the problem says less about the outcome than the willingness to look at it honestly.
What if we're deciding whether to separate?
That's a legitimate reason to come in, and it doesn't commit you to staying together. Some couples use the process to repair; others use it to separate with less damage, which matters a great deal when there are children or a shared life abroad.