Therapy for couples in high-demand careers in Michigan
I’m Ashley Weigl, LMSW, a couples therapist licensed in Michigan. I provide online therapy to couples located anywhere in Michigan and in-person couples therapy in downtown Royal Oak, Michigan, near Detroit. My practice is private pay only. I do not accept insurance.
I use Emotionally Focused Therapy to help smart, thoughtful couples in high-demand careers who are struggling with a cycle of resentment and disconnection in their relationship and want to feel like partners again without having to overhaul their full lives.
Who I Commonly Work With
I often work with couples who are navigating professional careers in high-responsibility roles. Many are physician scientists, academic clinicians, and early career faculty overwhelmed with managing the day-to-day responsibilities and are stuck in a cycle of arguing about logistics and then falling into disconnection and emotional distance. By the time they reach out, they realize they are starting to feel more like co-workers or roommates than partners.
For many couples I work with, scheduling is a challenge and they are looking for efficient work. Resentment has grown around the mental load, division of household responsibilities, parenting, and feeling like one person is carrying more than the other.
I work with couples who are growing their families while navigating high demand careers, and couples who want to uplevel their relationship.
Therapeutic Approach & Style
My work with couples is grounded in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and I have advanced training in this area. Rather than focusing primarily on communication tips or assigning regular homework, we work to understand the recurring cycle underneath the arguments—such as one partner becoming frustrated or critical while the other withdraws—and help both partners respond to each other differently.
My style is active and direct, and the work is experiential rather than focused primarily on analyzing the relationship intellectually. Sessions focus on what happens between you in real time, giving each of you opportunities to share what is happening underneath the surface—not just what your partner sees from the outside.
Services I Offer
I offer two formats for couples therapy: weekly couples therapy and couples therapy intensives.
Weekly couples therapy is a good fit for couples who want ongoing support and space to work on their relationship over time, and want to spread the financial investment out over a period of months. As the work progresses, we sometimes move to every other week.
Couples therapy intensives are one or three days long and offer concentrated time for couples who want more space to explore their relationship patterns than a standard weekly session allows. The extended format gives us time to slow down, understand the cycle you're caught in, and work with what happens between you in greater depth.
Typically, I recommend weekly therapy if there has been a recent disclosure of infidelity or other betrayal. Right after a disclosure, couples often need time to process what’s happened, and intensive work isn’t the most supportive starting point. In those situations, I typically recommend starting with weekly therapy.
Intensives may be a good fit for couples who are regularly cycling through the same arguments, are both committed to the work, and are willing to look at their patterns with support. Intensives are a good fit for couples who have schedules that make weekly therapy challenging, and want an efficient way to make significant progress in a few days.
When This Work Is a Good Fit
This work is often a good fit if:
You care deeply about each other but keep getting caught in the same arguments.
Most conflict now revolves around parenting, schedules, household responsibilities, or who is carrying more of the mental load.
One or both of you feel lonely or unseen even though you’ve built a life and family you love together.
You are starting to worry that you will have to overhaul your lives completely to make this work, and you have a career you care deeply about.
You function well as a team operationally but have lost emotional or physical closeness.
Both partners are willing to look at the pattern between you rather than coming to therapy primarily to prove who is right.
This approach works best when both partners are committed to the therapy process and invested in the outcome.
When This May Not Be the Best Fit
This may not be the best fit if:
you’re looking for couples therapy that will give you regular homework
you are not willing to invest in the process and want just one or two sessions
one partner has already decided to end the relationship and does not want to work on things
you are in the process of separating
Couples therapy may also not be an appropriate starting point when there are safety concerns that make conjoint sessions unsafe or clinically inappropriate. In those situations, I may recommend a different level or type of support.
Credentials & Experience
I’m an LMSW with five years of experience working exclusively with couples. My practice is grounded in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). I have completed the foundational 4-day EFT Externship as well as the advanced, year-long Core Skills training series certified by the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT). This advanced training focuses on helping couples slow down recurring conflict patterns, access the emotions underneath them, and create new ways of responding to each other in the moment.
Practical Details & Constraints
I provide online couples therapy to clients located in Michigan and in-person couples therapy in Royal Oak, Michigan. My practice is private pay. I offer both weekly couples therapy and couples therapy intensives.
Weekly couples therapy typically consists of 50 minute sessions. Couples therapy intensives are one or three days long and take place in person in my office in Royal Oak, MI.
Summary
I work with couples in high-demand careers Michigan who still care deeply about each other but have become stuck in recurring arguments, resentment, and emotional distance. Many of the couples I work with are in high-demand careers in academic medicine or are university faculty and are frustrated that they are stuck in the same fight. My work is active, experiential, and I use Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to help them get unstuck from the same recurring arguments, with both weekly therapy and one-day and three-day couples therapy intensives available depending on client needs and circumstances.
Where to Go Next
If you’re thinking about weekly therapy and want to learn more → Weekly and Bi-weekly Couples Therapy
If you’re curious if a couples therapy intensive might be right for you → Couples Therapy Intensives
If you want to learn more about Emotionally Focused Therapy → Emotionally Focused Therapy
If you want to learn more about my background → Meet Ashley