Couples Specialties
Providing (almost) Everything You Need
A NOTE FROM DR. O'MALLEY
oncouples specialties
Couples work is what I do.
Built on Emotionally Focused Therapy.
informed by the Gottman Method.
Dr. John O'Malley, PhD, LPC, NCC — Teaching Professor at the University of Denver
Couples therapy in the foothills of Golden, Colorado
Built on Emotionally Focused Therapy and informed by the Gottman Method
Right now you're asking the same question every couple asks before they pick up the phone: will this guy actually get us?
You should ask that. The wrong therapist is worse than no therapist. I've sat across from couples who came to me after three other clinicians missed what was actually going on, and the cost of those wasted months — financial, emotional, and to the relationship — is real.
So here's what you're getting in the room with me.
Licensed Professional Counselor. PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision. Teaching Professor at the University of Denver. Former Department Chair at Regis University, where I helped build their doctoral counseling program. Trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy and the Gottman Method — the two couples therapy approaches with serious research behind them. EFT is the foundation of my couples work, informed by Gottman where it helps. Many of the EFT-trained couples therapists practicing in Colorado today came through programs I've taught.
What that means for you: when you sit down with me, you're not paying for someone to learn on the job with your marriage. You're working with someone who teaches the model other therapists use, who has seen your specific dynamic many times before, and who knows what move to make next.
The list below isn't every situation I work with. It's the work I have deep experience in. If you don't see your specific situation, that's not a problem — that's what the consultation is for. We talk for twenty minutes, you tell me what's going on, and we figure out together whether I'm the right fit or whether someone else would serve you better.
If you've read this far, you already know the relationship needs help. The hard part isn't deciding whether to do something. The hard part is picking up the phone.
That's all I'm asking for. Twenty minutes. No pressure to book anything after. No pitch. Just a real conversation.
John O'Malley, PhD, LPC
A Note Before the List
After years of doing this work, I've seen most of what couples bring into a room. Couples of every faith and no faith. Couples from every kind of background, family structure, and walk of life. Couples whose stories look nothing like mine.
What I've learned is that every couple in distress is the same in the way that matters. You're hurting. You don't know how to reach each other. You want help.
Every couple who comes into my practice gets the same thing: dignity, no agenda about how your relationship should look, and the most evidence-based clinical care for what you're actually walking in with. That applies whether you're gay, catholic, evangelical, same-sex, polyamorous, agnostic, interfaith, or some combination that I have not listed. If you're a couple, and you want help, you're welcome here.
The list below is the work I have the deepest training in. It isn't a fence. If your situation isn't there, we talk for twenty minutes and figure out fit. If I'm not the right clinician, I'll point you to the right one.
Yes, I Probably Work With
What You're Going Through
f you're reading this, you're trying to figure out whether your situation is something I can actually help with. The honest answer is: probably yes. Here are the situations I have deep clinical experience with and have written about for couples coming to me. This list isn't exhaustive — couples come to me with overlapping and complicated dynamics that don't fit neatly into any one category. If your situation isn't listed here, or sits at the intersection of several, that's exactly what the twenty-minute consultation is for. We'll figure out together whether I'm the right fit.
High-conflict couples
When every conversation seems to go sideways and small disagreements escalate fast
Affair recovery and rebuilding trust after betrayal
Emotional affairs, physical affairs, breaches of trust, repair after disclosure
Sexless and low-intimacy marriages
Couples who have stopped connecting physically, sexually, or emotionally
Stay-or-go ambivalence and discernment counseling
Ehen one or both partners aren't sure they want to stay in the marriage
Empty nest and midlife couples
Couples whose kids have left, who realize they don't know each other anymore
Couples in demanding careers
physicians, attorneys, executives, founders, and dual-career couples where time, energy, and presence are scarce
Premarital and engaged couples
Preparing for marriage, working through differences before they become problems
Blended families and stepfamily couples
Navigating remarriage, co-parenting with ex-spouses, and building a new marriage on existing family structures
Catholic, Ignatian, and faith-informed couples
Couples seeking therapy that integrates their spiritual lives, particularly within the Catholic and broader Christian tradition
Couples who have already tried therapy and stalled out
Couples who've done couples counseling before, didn't get what they needed, and want to try one more time with an EFT specialist
Neurodivergent couples
ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and the dynamics that show up when one or both partners are wired in what I call in my dissertation as a "Superpower"
Let's Find Out If This Is the Right Fit
You've read this far, which means something is pulling you toward making a decision. That's worth honoring.
The consultation is twenty minutes by phone or video. You tell me what's going on between the two of you. I'll tell you honestly whether EFT and the work I do are the right next step for your specific situation, or whether someone else would serve you better.
No pitch. No pressure. No sales script. Just a real conversation between us about whether this is the right fit.
If we're a fit, we book the Couples Assessment and we get started. If we're not, I'll point you toward who would be.