At Northern Edge, we don’t do cookie-cutter couples therapy with worksheets and “I feel” statements that never make it past the surface. Our approach is relational, honest, and human. That means we work with you to explore what’s really happening under the surface—together.
We’re not here to fix either of you. We’re here to support the relationship between you—because that’s the real client in the room.
Whether you’re navigating major transitions like starting a family, rebuilding trust after betrayal, or just trying to reconnect after growing apart, this is a space for depth, healing, and meaningful change.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
An evidence-based approach that helps you understand and heal your inner family of parts.
Energy Psychology
Involves experiential techniques to address emotional and somatic issues.
Maybe you’ve found yourself lying awake at night thinking:
“Why do we keep having the same fight over and over?”
“We love each other… so why does it feel like we’re speaking different languages?”
“I’m trying, but I feel like I’m the only one doing the work.”
“We used to feel so close—what happened to that version of us?”
If any of that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
Many couples come to us not because they don’t love each other, but because they’re tired of feeling stuck. Stuck in patterns of miscommunication, emotional distance, tension around intimacy, or recovering from a betrayal that shook the foundation of their relationship.
Here’s the truth: relationships aren’t supposed to be effortless. They take tending, adjusting, growing. But that doesn’t mean you have to keep white-knuckling it or figure it out alone.
We work with all kinds of couples—but most often, we work with long-term partners (married, engaged, or “we’ve been doing this a long time but still feel disconnected”).
Our clients are people trying to navigate big transitions—like becoming parents, recovering from infidelity, shifting into empty nesting—or folks who feel emotionally distant and don’t quite know how to close the gap.
Some couples come in because one partner is asking, “Is it just me?” Others are stuck in a loop of the same fight over and over again. Many show up saying, “We just need to communicate better—but we can’t figure out how.”
You don’t need to have all the right words. You don’t even need to know what’s wrong. If you know the relationship doesn’t feel like it used to, that’s enough.
Develop skills to communicate more effectively and empathetically.
Learn to navigate and
resolve conflicts constructively.
Foster a deeper emotional and relational bond with your partner.
This isn’t therapy where one person is “right” and the other is “wrong.” And our couples counselors aren’t here to referee who wins the argument.
Couples therapy with us is centered on the idea that your relationship is the client. We’re here to help you both understand the patterns playing out between you—and what those patterns are trying to protect, avoid, or repair.
We don’t throw worksheets at you. We build a relationship with you, so we can get into the work within your relationship. With curiosity, compassion, and just the right amount of directness.
Through a blend of Internal Family Systems for couples (IFS), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, we help you:
This work isn’t about perfection or performance—it’s about real, vulnerable growth.
Let’s be honest—if your relationship could be fixed with a podcast episode or a communication workbook, it probably wouldn’t feel this hard right now.
Couples therapy at Northern Edge isn’t about tools, tips, or checklists. It’s not about diagnosing “the problem partner” or assigning blame. It’s about slowing things down and getting curious together.
Instead of treating each partner like separate clients, we treat your relationship as the client. That means the work we do is centered around building insight, connection, and safety between the two of you—through a therapy relationship grounded in honesty, compassion, and real-time collaboration.
We use evidence-based approaches like Internal Family Systems (IFS) for couples, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy—but we don’t believe therapy is one-size-fits-all. What we do believe is that healing happens in relationship—and that includes the one we build with you in the therapy room.
Let’s be honest—if your relationship could be fixed with a podcast episode or a communication workbook, it probably wouldn’t feel this hard right now.
Couples therapy at Northern Edge isn’t about tools, tips, or checklists. It’s not about diagnosing “the problem partner” or assigning blame. It’s about slowing things down and getting curious together.
Instead of treating each partner like separate clients, we treat your relationship as the client. That means the work we do is centered around building insight, connection, and safety between the two of you—through a therapy relationship grounded in honesty, compassion, and real-time collaboration.
We use evidence-based approaches like Internal Family Systems (IFS) for couples, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy—but we don’t believe therapy is one-size-fits-all. What we do believe is that healing happens in relationship—and that includes the one we build with you in the therapy room.
We’re not here to “fix” your partner. And we’re not here to promise your relationship will be saved.
Couples therapy isn’t about pushing you toward a certain outcome. It’s about helping you figure out what you want your relationship to look like—then supporting you both in navigating that path with more clarity, confidence, and emotional honesty.
We also don’t believe in forcing your relationship into a mold. There’s no one way your dynamic “should” look. We’re here to help you define what works for you.
Whether you’re trying to reconnect, rebuild after a rupture, or just find your way back to feeling like a team—couples therapy at Northern Edge offers a space for honesty, growth, and real change.
We’re not here to take sides. We’re here to help both of you feel seen, safe, and supported—so your relationship has the space to evolve.
Want to learn more or see if it’s the right fit?
Schedule a free consult and let’s talk about what’s next—for both of you.
Individuals and Couples Therapy
You don’t have to be on the brink of breaking up to benefit from couples therapy. In fact, some of the strongest outcomes happen when couples come in before things feel unmanageable.
If you’ve been wondering things like:
“Are we just bad at communicating?”
“Why do we keep having the same arguments?”
“Are we growing apart—or just in a rough patch?”
—then couples therapy might be a solid next step.
Couples Therapy
Couples therapy can help with far more than just communication problems—it’s a space to slow down and examine the patterns, pain points, and emotional dynamics that are keeping you stuck. Many couples come to therapy feeling like they’re having the same fight over and over again, struggling with physical or emotional intimacy, or feeling miles apart even when they’re sitting in the same room. Others come after a breach of trust, during a major life transition like becoming parents or empty nesting, or simply because things don’t feel good anymore and they don’t know how to fix it.
Whether you’re rebuilding after betrayal, trying to strengthen your connection, or figuring out if you still want the same things, this couples counseling can support clarity, growth, and emotional honesty in your relationship.
While every therapist has their own style, sessions at Northern Edge are far from stiff or scripted. Don’t expect clipboards, worksheets, or being told who’s “right” and who’s “wrong.” Instead, we treat the relationship itself as the client—meaning our goal is to understand how the two of you are functioning together, what’s working, what’s not, and where things feel stuck.
In your first few sessions, we’ll get curious about what brought you in, how conflict and connection show up between you, and what each of you wants to be different. From there, we’ll start identifying the deeper patterns underneath your everyday arguments—often rooted in unspoken needs, unhealed wounds, or old survival strategies.
Some sessions might feel deep and emotional. Others might focus on learning how to communicate more clearly or set boundaries with compassion. But all of them are grounded in honesty, emotional safety, and a relationship-first approach. Your couples therapist will guide the process, reflect patterns you might not be seeing, and help you build new ways of relating—without shame or blame.
These terms often get used interchangeably, but there are some important differences—especially if you’re searching for the right kind of support.
Couples therapy (what we offer here at Northern Edge Counseling) is a form of mental health treatment provided by licensed therapists. It’s focused on helping couples work through relational challenges—often rooted in deeper patterns like communication breakdowns, unresolved trauma, emotional disconnection, or betrayal. Couples therapy may explore each partner’s inner world, past experiences, attachment styles, and emotional needs, not just surface-level behaviors.
Marriage counseling is typically another name for couples therapy, though some people use it to refer more specifically to short-term support focused on a specific issue—like preparing for marriage, navigating a transition, or resolving a conflict. In reality, both terms overlap quite a bit, and you’ll often see therapists (like us) use them interchangeably depending on client preferences.
Relationship coaching, on the other hand, is not therapy. Coaches aren’t required to be licensed clinicians, and coaching doesn’t involve mental health diagnoses or deep trauma work. Coaching tends to focus on goals, communication strategies, or accountability—but doesn’t always address the underlying emotional wounds or nervous system responses that couples therapy is designed to hold.
If you’re looking for a trauma-informed, emotionally-focused approach that honors both your individual stories and your relationship dynamic, couples therapy with a licensed clinician is the best fit.
Yes—and not just by giving you a script or a worksheet.
At Northern Edge Counseling, we hear it all the time: “We just need to communicate better.” And while it’s true that communication breakdowns are often what bring couples into therapy, they’re rarely the root issue. What’s more common? Old wounds, unspoken needs, or protective patterns that show up as blame, defensiveness, or shutting down.
In couples therapy, we absolutely offer practical tools to help de-escalate conflict in the moment—because turning the volume down on reactivity is key to making space for real connection. But we don’t stop there. The goal isn’t just to help you “fight better.” It’s to help you understand what’s happening underneath the arguments: the hurt, fear, or longing that’s been hard to name out loud.
We work with couples to slow things down, shift rigid patterns, and learn how to communicate in a way that feels authentic—not performative. So if you’re stuck in the same argument loop or avoiding hard conversations altogether, therapy can help you break the cycle—not by fixing each other, but by learning to show up differently.
It depends—insurance coverage for couples therapy can be tricky. While some plans do cover it, most require that one partner has a diagnosable mental health condition, and that the therapy is focused on treating that individual diagnosis. In those cases, couples therapy may be reimbursed under that partner’s insurance.
At Northern Edge Counseling, we work with a variety of insurance plans, including BlueCross BlueShield, UCare, UnitedHealthcare (UHC), United Medical Resources (UMR), Medica, Surest, and Medicaid. We also accept HSA and HRA funds, and for those paying out of pocket, we offer sliding scale options to help reduce financial barriers.
The best way to find out what your plan covers is to reach out—we’re happy to verify your benefits or walk you through what coverage might look like for you. Couples therapy is an investment in your relationship, and we’ll work with you to find the most accessible path forward.
You’ve got options. At Northern Edge Counseling, we offer both in-person and telehealth sessions for couples therapy. Many of our clients appreciate the flexibility of telehealth—whether you’re juggling busy schedules, living in different locations, or just feel more comfortable opening up from your own space. Others prefer the groundedness of meeting face-to-face in our Duluth office.
No matter which format you choose, the quality of care stays the same. We’re experienced in holding space for meaningful conversations, emotional repair, and connection—whether you’re across the couch or across a screen.
Still not sure what would work best for your relationship? We’re happy to talk it through during a free consult.
Northern Edge Counseling
Mindful Immunity
with Neil
A Mind-Body Therapy Circle for Autoimmune Healing
