Marriage counseling for people who are good at hard things.
You lead a company, a practice, or a family, and you can carry a lot. But the same conversation keeps ending the same way. We're a husband-and-wife therapist team in North Richland Hills, minutes from Southlake and Keller, offering a structured, Gottman-informed program with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Who we work with
Most of the couples who find us are capable, established, and privately worn out. If that's you, you're in the right place.
Couples who run things
Business owners, physicians, executives, pastors, attorneys, officers. People used to being the one with the answer, who have found a problem that doesn't respond to effort.
Marriages that look fine from the outside
Two good people who keep hurting each other. Long calm stretches, then the same trigger, the same argument, the same hurt. You've started to wonder whether it can be solved.
Families with a lot on the plate
Kids, aging parents, a company, a congregation. You don't need another open-ended weekly obligation. You need a defined process that respects your time and actually finishes.
People of faith, and people who aren't sure
We're followers of Jesus and we love research. You'll never be preached at, and you'll never be asked to leave your convictions at the door. Every background is welcome here.
In Office Appointments
A process with a beginning, middle, and an end
Counseling shouldn't be a subscription. Ours has a shape: we find the cycle you're stuck in, we dismantle it together, and we check that the new pattern holds at home. Then we're done.
Assess
A one-hour consult with each of you separately, then structured assessments. We map your attachment histories and name the specific cycle you keep falling into.
Do the work
Two-hour sessions, often with both of us in the room so each of you has a therapist in your corner and neither of you is outnumbered.
Follow up
Check-ins at one and two months to make sure what changed in our office is still working in your kitchen. Some couples come back years later for a tune-up. Most don't need to.
A typical in-office couple spends 12 to 24 hours with us over two to four months. Everything is included in the rate: assessments, materials, follow-ups.
Discreet, private, and on your terms
When you're known in your community, at work, at church, or in your kids' school, getting help can feel like a risk. We built our practice around privacy.
- No insurance, no paper trail. We don't bill insurance, so no diagnosis goes to an insurer or your company's health plan.
- Confidential by law and by habit. What you say stays in the room, within the standard legal limits we explain on day one.
- Evening hours. Appointments run until 8pm Monday through Friday, so you don't have to explain an afternoon away from the office.
- A quiet first step. Your first contact is a private 15-minute phone call with a licensed therapist, not a waiting room.
FAQs
Is this going to work? Can you actually fix our relationship?
We get this a lot! No one can “fix” your relationship but you and your partner, but research gives us a road map. Gottman coaching and EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy) are both highly effective because we get you to do the work, not us. Couples do best when both partners commit to the process. It takes intense commitment and dedication to fully adhering to the process. If you stick to the process and let us guide you, odds are very much in your favor.
What are couples sessions like?
We use a flexible, structured format that begins with an assessment, guides you to practice problem solving together, and does follow-up over the coming weeks.
Our sessions are two hours or longer. We start with exploring your attachment history and examining your current communication patterns. Then we spend a lot of time listening to you as you work to express why you feel stuck. As we do this, we invariably bump into the same communication blocks you hit at home. This is where we slow it down and dismantle the blocks.
What are the cost and time commitments?
A typical couple spends 12–24 hours with us over 2–4 months. Couples sessions with Seth are $195/60 min, $292/85 min, or $390/110 min. A 110-minute session with both Seth and Beth is $600. Individual sessions are $170/60 min. See full rates.
Do you take insurance?
We are a private-pay practice and don’t bill insurance. Couples counseling treats the relationship, not a diagnosis, so it typically isn’t covered. We accept HSA/FSA cards where eligible.
Can I “try you out” first and then change my mind? Or come alone first and then have my spouse join later?
Many individuals want to test the waters first. We highly recommend liking your counselor! If we aren’t a fit, we will cheer you on to find your fit. If 10-15 minutes on the phone doesn’t settle it, come check us out for a session.
If you want to come alone and bring your spouse in later, mention it in the first session and we will game plan. We like to get the spouse on as soon as possible so there is never the perception of an alliance. The primary goal is for him/her to feel completely comfortable and accepted by an unbiased third party.
Are you going to side with my spouse because they are better with emotions?
Maybe you’re not very fluent with expressing your emotions and counseling is your worst nightmare. You aren’t the problem. No one person ever is. No we aren’t going to gang up on you, buy their story and leave you high and dry. It takes two to create whatever problems you may have. If we are siding with one person, we aren’t doing our job.
Is counseling confidential?
Yes. Confidentiality is protected by Texas law and our professional ethics, with a few standard legal exceptions (such as safety concerns) that we walk through at the start. Because we don't bill insurance, nothing about your counseling goes to an insurer or employer plan.
Is your counseling faith-based?
We're followers of Jesus and we love research. You'll never be preached at, and you'll never be asked to leave your convictions at the door. Couples of every background are welcome.
Serving couples across Dallas–Fort Worth
Our office is at 8240 Mid Cities Blvd. in North Richland Hills, a short drive from Southlake, Colleyville, Keller, Grapevine, Westlake, and Fort Worth, and an easy trip from Dallas. Couples come to us from across Northeast Tarrant County and the wider Metroplex.
In short: Grounded Life Counseling and Coaching is a private-pay marriage counseling practice in North Richland Hills, Texas, led by Seth Nichols, LPC (Gottman Level 2 trained), and Beth Nichols, LCSW-S. It serves established couples in Southlake, Colleyville, Keller, Grapevine, Westlake, Fort Worth, and Dallas.
Ready to stop having the same fight?
A licensed therapist will talk with you, not a call center. No pressure, no commitment.
Mon–Fri, 8am–8pm · Private pay · HSA/FSA where eligible · Always confidential
Free Consult
This will text us. A licensed therapist will contact you within 1 business day.
No spam. Always confidential.