Keely Rodriguez, LPC-S · Certified EMDR & Brainspotting Therapist · BRIA Certified Menopause Mental Health Provider
You still love each other.
You just can't stop having the same fight.
Couples therapy and marriage counseling in person in Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley, and online anywhere in Texas.
It’s the same cycle of fighting over and over again.
You know how this one goes.
One of you says something. The other one hears something slightly different. Within four minutes you are not talking about the calendar anymore, you are in the argument underneath it, the one you have had so many times you could each say the other's lines.
Then it is over. Someone apologizes, or nobody does. You go to bed. Tomorrow is fine. Next Thursday it happens again.
You may not be a couple in crisis but you know something has to change. Right now you are getting things done. You get the kids where they need to be. From the outside you look like people who have it together, and mostly you do.
But somewhere in the last few years you stopped being on the same team. You are not sure when. You just know you miss each other, and neither one of you can figure out how to say it without it turning into the fight.
You may have tried all the communication tips, but you are stuck in the same cycle.
You have probably tried a few things. The book. The podcast. The rule about not going to bed angry. Maybe a round of couples counseling somewhere that gave you a worksheet and taught you to say "I feel" instead of "you always."
Some of it helped a little. None of it lasted. That is not because you did not try hard enough, and it is not because one of you is the problem.
It is because the fight is not about what you are fighting about. Underneath it is a much older question, are you there, do I matter to you, am I still someone you are glad you picked, and no communication technique reaches that. You have to actually go there, with someone who knows how to take you there safely.
That is the work I do.
The Relationship Roadmap
Should we stay, and what would it take?
Some couples come in sure they want to fix this. Some come in with one person more hopeful than the other. Some come in quietly wondering if it is time to stop. All of you start in the same place.
You get three sessions before either of you commits to anything more. By the end you will know what is driving the pattern, whether it can move, and what staying would actually ask of each of you. I will tell you what I see. The decision stays with the two of you.
The Relationship Roadmap is $750 across three sessions, paid one session at a time.
Before the First Session
You each complete the Gottman Relationship Checkup, separately and privately. Plan on an hour or two each, finished at least 48 hours before your first session. I read both before you are in the room, so neither of you spends the first hour explaining your relationship from scratch. (The Gottman Relationship Checkup is an assessment from The Gottman Institute. My practice is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.)
1
The Pattern
We slow the fight down until all three of us can see the shape of it. Who reaches, who retreats, how fast it goes, where it always ends up. Not who started it.
$275
75 Minute Session
2
What You Brought With You
I meet with each of you separately, 35 minutes apiece, back to back on the same day with a few minutes in between. We talk about the family you grew up in, what you learned about love long before this relationship, and what you actually want out of this. Some of that is easier to say without your partner in the room.
$275
75 Minute Session
(35 minutes per partner)
3
The Roadmap
I tell you what I see. What I think is driving the pattern, what the work would look like, how often we would meet, and roughly how long. You get an honest clinical opinion, including if I think you do not need much, or that something else has to be handled first.
$200
50 Minute Session
After the Relationship Roadmap, what’s next?
It usually goes one of three ways.
You keep going. Most couples meet weekly for the first four sessions, because that is where the momentum comes from. Some move to every other week after that. It works, it just takes longer.
You do not need much. Sometimes the pattern is real but small. I will tell you that, and you will leave with what you need.
Something else comes first. Individual work, a safety concern, or one of you needing more time to decide whether to try. I will help you find the right next step, including a referral when someone else is the better fit.
Whichever it is, you will be deciding with real information instead of the same fight.
Ongoing sessions are 50 minutes at $200. When there has been a betrayal, or when something bigger is running the show, I will recommend 75. That is my call to make at the Roadmap, not a box for you to check.
Extended Sessions
Some of this work does not fit in 50 minutes. When there has been a betrayal, or when something older is driving the pattern, 50 minutes is enough to open it and not enough to put it back down before you walk out to your car. Those couples get 75 minutes. I will tell you at the Roadmap if you are one of them.
$300
75 Minute Session
Keely Rodriguez, LPC-S
Provides couples therapy in person in Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley and online anywhere in Texas, using Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) alongside a trauma specialist’s training in EMDR and Brainspotting.
How I work with couples
Hi, I’m Keely.
I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor-S. I am trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy, which is built on a simple idea: the enemy is not your partner. It is the pattern the two of you fall into when you are both scared.
So in my office we are not choosing sides and we are not keeping score. We slow the fight down until you can both see the shape of it, who reaches, who retreats, how fast it goes, and then we work on what is happening underneath it for each of you.
I am also a trauma specialist. That matters in couples work more than people expect. What one of you learned about love at eight years old is often sitting right in the middle of the argument you had last Tuesday. I know how to work with that.
Is this the right fit?
This is probably a fit if:
• You have a real history together, and you want to know if it can work.
• One of you is more hopeful than the other right now, and you both want a clear picture before anyone decides anything.
• You keep having the same fight and you are tired of it.
• One or both of you shut down, and you both hate it.
• Something happened, a betrayal, a breach of trust, and you are trying to decide what comes next.
• You want to actually get somewhere, not collect strategies.
Where and when couples sessions happen
In person, we meet at my Brownsville office. Couples come from Harlingen, San Benito, Los Fresnos, McAllen, Edinburg, Mission, Pharr, and Weslaco.
Online, we meet on Zoom from wherever you are in Texas. Every session can be online, including the individual time in session two. Same sessions, same rates, same Relationship Roadmap. Both of you need to be physically in Texas for each session.
Couples sessions run in the morning, at midday, and after work. Two people with jobs should not have to take a whole afternoon off to do this. I do not schedule couples on weekends. Couples work asks a lot of all three of us, and I do it inside a week I can protect. You get a better session for it.
In-person sessions are held at Keely Rodriguez Therapy, 1623 Central Blvd, 2nd Floor, Suite 1, Brownsville, TX 78520. (956) 275-3232.
Why Private Pay for Couples Counseling
Insurance requires a therapist to diagnose one of you with a mental health condition in order to cover the work. Relationship distress is not that, and I am not willing to label one of you to make the billing work. Paying directly also means what we do, and how long we do it, stays between the three of us.
Also insurance companies are often unwilling to cover couples therapy and marriage counseling at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you offer couples therapy in Brownsville?
Yes. I see couples in person at my Brownsville office at 1623 Central Blvd, 2nd Floor, Suite 1, serving Brownsville, Harlingen, San Benito, Los Fresnos, and the wider Rio Grande Valley. If you are elsewhere in Texas, we meet online.
How much does couples therapy cost?
The Relationship Roadmap is $750 across three sessions, paid one session at a time. The first session, The Pattern, is $275 for 75 minutes and includes the Gottman Relationship Checkup for both partners. The second session, What You Brought With You, is $275 for 75 minutes total, 35 minutes with each partner. The third session, The Roadmap, is $200 for 50 minutes. Ongoing couples sessions are $200 for 50 minutes. Extended 75-minute sessions are $300 when I recommend them. Payment is per session, with no packages.
How long are couples therapy sessions?
Ongoing couples sessions are 50 minutes. The first two sessions of the Relationship Roadmap are 75 minutes each, and the third is 50 minutes. When there has been a betrayal, or when something older is running underneath the fight, I will recommend 75-minute ongoing sessions instead. That is my recommendation to make, not a length you pick.
What is Emotionally Focused Therapy?
Emotionally Focused Therapy, or EFT, is an approach to couples work built on attachment science. Rather than teaching communication techniques, it targets the negative cycle a couple falls into and the unmet needs underneath it.
How is Emotionally Focused Therapy different from other couples counseling?
Most couples counseling is skills based. You learn communication formats, repair phrases, and tools for fighting fair, which works well for couples who are basically steady and need better technique. Emotionally Focused Therapy works on the cycle underneath the conflict instead, using attachment science to address what happens between two people before either one speaks. If previous couples work helped in the office but faded within days, the tools were usually fine and the cycle had not changed.
We tried couples counseling before and it did not help. Would this be different?
Often, yes, though I will not promise it. The most common reason couples work stalls is that it stayed at the level of communication technique while the pattern underneath kept running. I work on the pattern itself, and I am a trauma specialist, so if one partner's history is driving part of the cycle I can work with that directly rather than around it. The free consult is where we figure out whether this is a fit.
Do you offer couples therapy online?
Yes. Couples therapy is available online anywhere in Texas, with the same session lengths and the same rates as in person. Every session can be online, including the individual time with each partner. Both partners need to be physically located in Texas at the time of each session. If you would rather meet in person, we do that at my Brownsville office.
Do you take insurance for couples therapy?
No. Couples therapy is private pay only. Insurance requires a mental health diagnosis attached to one partner, and relationship distress is not a billable diagnosis.
What happens in the first three couples sessions?
Every couple starts with the Relationship Roadmap, which is three sessions. Before the first one, you each complete the Gottman Relationship Checkup separately and privately, and I read both before you are in the room. Session one, The Pattern, is 75 minutes with both of you. Session two, What You Brought With You, is 35 minutes with each of you separately. Session three, The Roadmap, is 50 minutes with both of you, and it is where I tell you what I see, what I think is driving the pattern, and what the work would look like.
We are not sure we want to stay together. Is couples therapy right for us?
It can be. The Relationship Roadmap is built for that question. In three sessions you get a clear picture of what is driving the pattern, whether it can change, and what staying would take. I will not tell you whether to stay or divorce. That decision is yours. If one of you has already decided to leave, couples therapy is usually not the right fit, and I can point you toward support that is.
Is couples therapy right for us if there is fear or violence in the relationship?
Couples work only helps when both of you can speak freely, without worrying about what happens when you get home. If there is fear or violence in your relationship, couples sessions are not the safe place to start. Reach out to me on your own, and I will help you find support that fits. You can also call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, any time, day or night.
What if we finish the Roadmap and decide not to keep going?
Then you leave with a clearer picture than you came in with, and you owe nothing more. Some couples learn they need less than they thought. Some need individual work first. Some decide to part. Whatever you decide, I will help you find the right next step.
How often do couples meet for therapy?
I recommend weekly sessions to start, the first four especially, because that is where the momentum comes from. Some couples move to every other week after that. It works, but does take longer.
Do you work with couples after an affair?
Yes, once the affair has ended. Betrayal recovery is part of my practice and builds on my work as a trauma specialist. If an affair is still going on, couples work cannot start until it is over.
When are couples appointments available?
Couples sessions run in the morning, at midday, and after work. Not every time is open every day. There are no couples sessions on weekends.
Do you offer couples therapy after work?
Yes. Couples sessions are available after work, as well as in the morning and at midday. Two people with jobs should not have to take a whole afternoon off to do this work.
If you read the top of this page and thought that is us, that is usually a good sign. It means the pattern is nameable, and nameable patterns can change.
The consult is fifteen minutes, it is free, and it is not therapy. It is a conversation about whether this is a fit. Either of you can be on the call, or both.
It’s time to do something different.
Who it’s for: Couples in Texas stuck in the same fight. Both partners must be in Texas for online sessions.
Provider: Keely Rodriguez, LPC-S, trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy through ICEEFT.
Where: In person in Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley. Online anywhere in Texas.
Payment: Private pay. No superbill for couples therapy.