Couples Counseling

Whatever you are facing as a couple we are here to help.

Your relationship means everything... and you want to try everything to save it, or to know if it can be saved?

From weekly therapy, to marriage intensives.

Pre-marital counseling or Post-divorce/co-parenting support.

Our teams specializes in the myriad of relationship stages can occur.

Whether its a healthy "tune-up," having become "roommates," disconnect and fighting, high conflict or crisis, contemplating divorce, non-traditional relationships, LGBTQ+ couples, Pastoral & Ministry based couples, co-parenting, co-dependency, sexual issues, Senior Couples, (60+), trust/betrayal, infidelity, addiction, and everything in between,

Our staff will help connect you with one of our trained marriage therapist's to best meet you there.

FYI: Most of our Clinicians working with relationships are Marriage & Family Therapists (LMFT/MMFT).

In the counseling profession, we are all trained differently (LMFT, LPC-MHSP, LCSW, etc.).

Not one better than the other. Just DIFFERENT.

Marriage & Family Therapist's are trained systemically. This means we examine the entire system with which the relationship originated and is connected to (from childhood to now). At Matters of the Heart, our counselors are specifically trained to dig DEEP into the original ROOT SYSTEM of each person to help them identify, and better understand their core wounds that are being activated in their relationship with their partner. We strive not to get lost looking into the "low hanging fruit" as we refer to it, or the obvious problem brought to us (infidelity, disaffection, lack of sexual intimacy, etc), but explore the depth of the injured system and heal it WITH your partner.

We understand the complexities that arise and keep you STUCK when you join two people from different backgrounds together. Our counselors are trained to help you to deconstruct what IS and WAS, and reconstruct something NEW, that honors you both better.

For more information on the training of Marriage and Family Therapists, click here.

Additionally, as the client, should you ever feel that the counselor you are working with is not the best fit for you, contact our directors and will work diligently with you to locate an alternative provider to best meet your needs. We have counselors within our group as well as outside of our practice whom we often recommend.

Check out our counselors below by clicking their photos and find the approach that best fits your need.

Joanna Dixon, LMFT

Hendersonville Office & Virtual

EFT Fully Trained

"We fight hardest for the things that matter the most to us. Our intimate relationships have the ability to leave us feeling the most exposed and vulnerable as well as the most safe and secure. And I'm willing to come beside you and stay in the fight for your marriage, because that goal for safety and connection with your person is WORTH IT!"

Using her training in Emotionally Focused Therapy, EFT, the Gold Standard for treating Relationships, in Attachment Therapy, Joanna digs in deep to help couples understand not just HOW to fight fair, but why we're even fighting. Getting couples to sit in the pit with one another and face that vulnerable and often scary space as an opportunity to truly be known by your partner... Maybe even for the first time.

Mandy Middleton, LMFT

Gallatin Office & Virtual

EFT Trained

As a couple's therapist, Mandy helps identify patterns within relationships that are unhelpful and contribute to disconnection. To provide more insight about the defense mechanisms that each partner uses and why, Mandy dives into how the family history of each person worked in the past and present.

First, it's important to understand why we react the way we do, becoming familiar with our triggers. Those triggers set off our most painful feelings and fears. After identifying those, we are then able to relate and interact with our loved one with more honesty, openness, and love.

Becky Kimbrough, LMFT

Goodlettsville Office & Virtual

EFT Fully Trained

Connection, security, support, trust, intimacy, respect, belonging, passion.…all things we yearn for in our relationships.

Whatever your needs and goals for couples therapy, Becky's goal is to equip you with skills and confidence to navigate the journey back to the kind of compassionate, engaged, enthusiastic partnership you crave. Putting in the work, together, to develop insight in a safe space furthers your understanding of your partner, enriches your partnership, and is an investment in the future of your relationship.

Nicole Heckel, LMFT

Hendersonville Office & Virtual

As a marriage and family therapist, Nicole's approach is whole-person centered with a systems approach. We look not just at the problem, but how the problem began. Nicole provides a safe environment to share and process while digging in to family history and patterns that have formed over time and need deconstructing and rebuilding.

If you are struggling with relational disconnect, communication, codependency, disaffection or boundary setting please

Nicole's approach is full of wisdom and warmth, and she welcomes you into your journey.

Kristen Smith, LMFT

Goodlettsville Office & Virtual

EFT Fully Trained

To speak, and be heard.

To find your voice and advocate for yourself while still having compassion for those around you.

These are some things that are a natural byproduct of your time in working with Kristen.

Kristen is a skilled listener and enjoys the process of working with others to find creative solutions to life’s difficult problems. She is passionate about working with her clients through challenging life adjustments, anxiety, depression, and codependency.

Lindsay Loftis, LMFT

Hendersonville Office & Virtual

EFT Trained

Lindsay utilizes an EFT approach to help couples better understand themselves and each other, create healthier communication, and form a stronger emotional connection.

“The most functional way to regulate difficult emotions in love relationships is to share them”

- Sue Johnson

Morgan Johnson, MMFT

Goodlettsville Office & Virtual

EFT Trained

Trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy, Morgan is skilled at working with couples who experience the complexities of disconnect and loneliness with our most intimate partners.

She understands that we often find ourselves utilizing the only methods we know how to remain connected. She works hard to help track down these methods, reveal the harm they do and help teach couples how to communicate and resolve conflict in a safer, more connected way.

Loren Lyons, LMFT

Hendersonville Office & Virtual

Loren believes that in order to solve the problems that relationships can throw at us, we need to look at it from all possible angles to help find the best solution. WIth a solution focus and trauma informed approach, her gentle but honest approach can bring healing in a way that invites empathy in.

Julie Flannagan, MMFT

Gallatin Office & Virtual

EFT TRAINED

Julie has a passion for helping couples transform their hardships into strengths. Looking at the pain underneath the surface, finding compassion for yourself first, then extending that love to your partner opens you up to a relational honesty you didn't know you didn't know!!

Julie brings a special honesty blended with warmth, directness, and valuable life experience to her work as a Marriage and Family Counselor.

Alex MacWilliam, LMFT

Hendersonville Office & Virtual

Movement is the goal that Alex wants to cultivate with couples. So often in relationships, couples get stuck. Stuck in pain, hurt, or routine, couples can find themselves not being able to connect with each other like they once did.

This lack of connection creates tension that keeps couples of all kinds stuck in their ways. Alex’s belief is that if momentum can be created for a relationship, a new path can be forged.

Paul Lawson, LPC (T)

Hendersonville Office & Virtual

EFT Trained

Paul works with both individuals and couples looking to improve relationships and create deeper

more meaningful connection.

He utilizes attachment based approaches to help couples reconnect and experience themselves and their partners in a new way.

Bethany Mackey, MMFT

Gallatin Office & Virtual

Humans are wired for connection, and Bethany creates a safe and welcoming space to explore the patterns of the past and how they may be affecting the present.

Bethany values authenticity and desires to empower others to show up for themselves, play to their strengths and create the life they want. Each of our stories matter and we are all worthy of being seen and understood. It takes courage for anyone to step out onto a new path and Bethany wants to meet you wherever you are in your journey.

Graduate Interns

Hendersonville, Goodlettsville,

& Gallatin

Keiara Marsh, MS

Couples Counseling

Whatever you are facing as a couple we are here to help.

Your relationship means everything... and you want to try everything to save it, or to know if it can be saved?

From weekly therapy, to marriage intensives.

Pre-marital counseling or Post-divorce/co-parenting support.

Our teams specializes in the myriad of relationship stages can occur.

Our staff will help connect you with one of our trained marriage therapist's to best meet you there.

FYI: Most of our Clinicians working with relationships are Marriage & Family Therapists (LMFT/MMFT).

In the counseling profession, we are all trained differently (LMFT, LPC-MHSP, LCSW, etc.).

Not one better than the other. Just DIFFERENT.

We understand the complexities that arise and keep you STUCK when you join two people from different backgrounds together. Our counselors are trained to help you to deconstruct what IS and WAS, and reconstruct something NEW, that honors you both better.

For more information on the training of Marriage and Family Therapists, click here.

Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy

Couples Counseling

Whatever you are facing as a couple we are here to help.

​

Your relationship means everything... and you want to try everything to save it, or to know if it can be saved?

From weekly therapy, to marriage intensives.

Pre-marital counseling or Post-divorce/co-parenting support.

Our teams specializes in the myriad of relationship stages can occur.

Our staff will help connect you with one of our trained marriage therapist's to best meet you there.

FYI: Most of our Clinicians working with relationships are Marriage & Family Therapists (LMFT/MMFT).

In the counseling profession, we are all trained differently (LMFT, LPC-MHSP, LCSW, etc.).

Not one better than the other. Just DIFFERENT.

​

We understand the complexities that arise and keep you STUCK when you join two people from different backgrounds together. Our counselors are trained to help you to deconstruct what IS and WAS, and reconstruct something NEW, that honors you both better.

​

For more information on the training of Marriage and Family Therapists, click here.

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