New to Grow
I’m Janet Worley, LMFT and founder of Worley Wellness Counseling. I work with couples and individuals navigating relationship stress, communication struggles, emotional disconnection, and life transitions. Many of the people I work with care deeply about their relationships but feel stuck in painful patterns that leave them feeling hurt, misunderstood, overwhelmed, or unsure how to move forward. My approach to therapy is warm, collaborative, practical, and down-to-earth. I believe therapy works best when clients feel safe enough to be honest, supported enough to be vulnerable, and empowered enough to create meaningful change. Rather than offering judgment or one-size-fits-all advice, I strive to create a space where clients feel genuinely heard, understood, and challenged toward growth. A large part of my work focuses on helping people understand the deeper patterns underneath conflict and distress. Whether you find yourself caught in recurring arguments, struggling to communicate, feeling emotionally disconnected, or carrying wounds that continue to impact your relationships, therapy can help bring clarity and create new ways of relating. I use an integrative approach that blends attachment-focused work, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Gottman Method interventions, DBT-informed skills, and practical problem-solving strategies. This allows us to explore not only what is happening, but why it is happening and how to begin changing it. My goal is to help couples and individuals move beyond conflict, disconnection, and unhealthy patterns toward greater understanding, emotional safety, stronger communication, and more fulfilling relationships—with others and with themselves. I believe healing and change are possible, and you do not have to figure it all out alone.
Starting therapy can feel like a big step—and sometimes a vulnerable one. Many people come into their first session feeling nervous, unsure what to say, or worried they will be judged. That is completely normal. My goal is to make the process feel welcoming, collaborative, and grounded from the very beginning. Your first session is primarily about getting to know you, understanding what brings you to therapy, and beginning to build a foundation for the work we will do together. This is not a test, and there is no “right” way to show up. You do not need to have everything figured out before you begin. During our first session, we will spend time talking about your current concerns, relevant history, and what you hope might feel different or better as a result of therapy. For some clients, this may involve relationship struggles, communication difficulties, anxiety, emotional overwhelm, life transitions, trust concerns, or feeling stuck in patterns that no longer serve them. I will ask questions—not to interrogate or analyze you—but to better understand your experiences, relationships, strengths, and the patterns that may be contributing to distress. Therapy is most effective when it feels like a conversation rather than an interview, so I encourage honesty, curiosity, and questions along the way. For couples, the first session is often focused on understanding the relationship itself. I want to hear each partner’s experience and gain a clearer picture of the challenges you are facing together. My role is not to decide who is right or wrong, assign blame, or “take sides.” Instead, we work toward understanding the interaction patterns and emotional dynamics that may be keeping you stuck. I often explain that in couples therapy, the relationship cycle—not either partner—is the problem. Many couples find themselves trapped in patterns of pursuing and withdrawing, escalating and defending, or struggling to repair after conflict. Early sessions are often focused on slowing these patterns down and beginning to understand what is happening beneath the surface. You can also expect me to share a bit about how I work and the approaches I use in therapy. My style is warm, collaborative, practical, and down-to-earth. I integrate approaches such as Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Gottman Method interventions, DBT-informed skills, and solution-focused strategies depending on your goals and needs. This means therapy often includes both emotional insight and practic
One of the things that stands out most about my work is that I do not believe therapy should feel cold, overly clinical, or like a lecture. Therapy is deeply personal, and I believe meaningful change happens when clients feel genuinely understood, emotionally safe, and actively involved in the process. My style is warm, collaborative, practical, and down-to-earth. Clients often tell me they appreciate that therapy with me feels both supportive and honest—compassionate without being passive and direct without feeling judgmental. I strive to create a space where people can be real, vulnerable, and challenged toward growth without feeling criticized or blamed. A large part of my practice focuses on **couples counseling and relationship work**, and this is where much of my experience and passion lies. I work with couples experiencing communication struggles, emotional disconnection, trust concerns, recurring conflict, and life transitions. I also work with individuals whose personal struggles and emotional patterns are impacting their relationships or sense of well-being. What makes my work unique is the way I blend **deeper emotional and attachment-focused therapy with practical, real-world skills**. Many people come to therapy wanting better communication or fewer arguments, but communication problems are often symptoms of something deeper. My job is not simply to teach scripts or conflict tips—it is to help clients understand the patterns, emotions, and unmet needs underneath what is happening. I primarily draw from **Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Gottman Method Couples Therapy, DBT-informed interventions, attachment theory, and Solution-Focused approaches**. This integrative style allows me to tailor therapy to the unique needs of each client or couple rather than relying on a rigid one-size-fits-all approach. With couples, this often means we are doing two important things at the same time: **Understanding the emotional cycle that keeps you stuck** and **Learning practical skills to communicate, repair, and reconnect more effectively.** I frequently help couples identify and slow down negative patterns such as pursue/withdraw dynamics, escalation and defensiveness, emotional shutdown, or cycles where both partners feel unseen and misunderstood. Rather than focusing on blame or deciding who is “right,” I help couples understand the interaction itself and learn how to become better teammates. At the same time, I believe insight alone is not eno
I am particularly passionate about working with couples and individuals affected by relationship distress, communication struggles, emotional disconnection, and trust concerns. My ideal clients are motivated to understand the deeper patterns beneath conflict and willing to engage in a collaborative process of growth and repair. I help clients move beyond blame and frustration toward greater emotional safety, connection, and practical change.
Top specialties
I identify as
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a core part of my work with couples. EFT is an attachment-based, evidence-supported model that helps partners understand and change the negative cycles keeping them stuck. In my practice, I help couples slow down conflict, identify deeper emotions and unmet needs, and move from patterns of attack/defend or pursue/withdraw toward greater emotional safety and connection. I often integrate EFT with Gottman Method and DBT-informed interventions, blending deeper emotional work with practical communication and relationship skills.
Gottman method
I incorporate Gottman Method Couples Therapy as part of my work with couples to help strengthen communication, repair conflict, and rebuild connection. Gottman Method is a research-based approach grounded in decades of relationship science. In practice, I use interventions such as Soft Start-Ups, Repair Attempts, Love Maps, and the Four Horsemen framework to help couples reduce escalation, improve understanding, and create healthier communication patterns. I often integrate Gottman work with EFT and attachment-focused approaches, combining practical relationship tools with deeper emotional understanding and connection work.
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
I incorporate Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) into my work with individuals and couples as a strengths-based, goal-oriented approach that helps clients build on what is already working and create meaningful change. Using tools such as scaling questions, exception finding, and goal-focused conversations, I help clients identify strengths, increase motivation, and develop practical steps toward their preferred outcomes. I often integrate SFBT with EFT, Gottman Method, and DBT-informed approaches to balance deeper insight with practical, forward-focused change.
Couples Counseling
Couples counseling is a primary focus of my practice. I work with couples experiencing communication challenges, conflict, emotional disconnection, trust concerns, and life transitions. My approach is warm, collaborative, and integrative, blending Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Gottman Method, attachment-based work, DBT-informed skills, and Solution-Focused strategies. I help couples identify negative interaction cycles, improve communication, rebuild connection, and create healthier patterns of emotional safety and teamwork. My goal is to help couples move from feeling stuck and disconnected toward greater understanding, repair, and lasting connection.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
I incorporate Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) into my work with individuals and couples as a practical, skills-based approach for managing emotions, improving communication, and coping more effectively with stress and relationship challenges. Using DBT-informed tools such as mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness skills, I help clients develop healthier coping strategies, strengthen boundaries, and respond more intentionally rather than reactively. I often integrate DBT with EFT, Gottman Method, and attachment-based approaches to combine emotional insight with practical, real-world skills.