EFT-informed couples counseling
Couples Counseling for Partners Who Experience the World Differently
Neuromixed relationships can bring different communication styles, emotional rhythms, sensory needs, and ways of solving problems into the same partnership. At Dragonfly, we help both partners understand the pattern between them and build a way of connecting that respects how each person experiences the world.
Who it serves
Couples in which partners experience or interpret the world differently. You do not need a diagnosis or any particular identity label to receive support.
Format and location
In person in the Columbus area and by telehealth for eligible clients in the states where our providers are licensed.
Private pay
Couples intake: $225
Ongoing sessions: $170
Who this service is for
When different ways of communicating become a recurring source of conflict
Some couples describe their relationship as neuromixed. One or both partners may use terms such as neurodivergent, autistic, or ADHD to describe how they experience the world. Others prefer not to use labels and instead recognize meaningful differences in communication, attention, emotional processing, routines, or sensory experience.
The label matters less than the pattern. Both partners may care deeply about the relationship while repeatedly leaving conversations feeling misunderstood, blamed, or alone.
This service may be right for you if
- The same conversation seems to have a different meaning for each partner.
- One partner wants to resolve conflict immediately while the other needs time to process.
- Differences in attention, routines, sensory needs, or emotional expression feel not yet understood or accommodated.
- Attempts to solve a problem lead to criticism, defensiveness, withdrawal, or escalating frustration.
- Both partners want greater connection without asking either person to become someone they are not.
Dragonfly's approach
Both partners' experiences are real and worthy of understanding
Dragonfly uses a non-pathologizing, EFT-informed approach to couples counseling. We understand and appreciate that neurodiversity is an enriching part of natural human variation, and we never see neurodivergence as a defect to be corrected. Our therapists do not begin from the assumption that one partner communicates better or more correctly. They examine the cycle that develops when two valid but different experiences collide, then help each partner recognize the needs and emotions underneath the reaction.
Understand the cycle
Identify the sequence that turns a difference into disconnection, including the moments when each partner begins to feel dismissed, overwhelmed, criticized, or abandoned.
Translate across differences
Develop language that makes each partner's intent, limits, and emotional experience easier for the other to recognize.
Build shared connection
Create communication and relationship practices that work for each unique couple instead of imposing a single standard of how partners should think, feel, or respond.
What we can work on together
Conflict and repair
Recognize escalation earlier, reduce blame, and develop ways to pause and return to difficult conversations without losing the underlying issue.
Communication and interpretation
Clarify what each partner means, needs, and hears so that differences in expression do not automatically become evidence of indifference or rejection.
Daily relationship patterns
Address recurring strain involving responsibilities, transitions, attention, planning, intimacy, sensory needs, and expectations for time together or apart.
ADHD and relationships
When ADHD-related differences become part of the relationship cycle
ADHD may shape how a person directs attention, experiences time, initiates tasks, remembers commitments, and sustains follow-through. These differences do not make someone uncaring or incapable of partnership, but their impact within a neuromixed relationship can still be painful. One partner may feel overburdened or unable to rely on commitments, while the other may feel ashamed, controlled, or constantly criticized despite genuinely wanting to follow through.
Move beyond the parent-child cycle
One partner may feel pushed into managing reminders, responsibilities, and deadlines, while the other feels parented, micromanaged, or treated as incapable. Neuromixed couples counseling helps replace this dynamic with clearer agreements, reciprocal accommodation, and shared responsibility.
Separate intention, capacity, and impact
Understanding why something happened does not erase its impact. Counseling helps partners distinguish intention, current capacity, and relational impact so they can build accountability without blame or shame.
Rebuild reliability and trust
Repeated missed commitments or inconsistent follow-through can become injuries to trust. Together, partners can create more accessible ways to make agreements, recognize problems earlier, repair ruptures, and rebuild emotional safety.
Autism and relationships
When autistic and non-autistic partners experience connection differently
The ways in which autistic and non-autistic partners experience communication, sensory input, emotional expression, routines, and social expectations may often differ, leaving one or both partners feeling disconnected or misunderstood.
Make communication more explicit
Partners may differ in how much they rely on direct language, tone, body language, context, or implied meaning. Counseling can help both partners communicate needs and intentions more clearly without treating either communication style as the correct one.
Respect sensory and processing needs
Noise, touch, transitions, competing demands, or emotionally intense conversations may affect each partner differently. Together, couples can recognize overload earlier and develop ways to pause, regulate, and return to connection without interpreting a need for space as rejection.
Recognize different expressions of care
Partners may express affection, empathy, and commitment in different ways. Counseling helps make those expressions more visible while also creating room to discuss unmet needs, negotiate accommodations, and build forms of connection that feel meaningful to both people.
Provider experience
Experience with neurodivergent individuals and neuromixed couples
Our therapists have experience working with neurodivergent individuals and neuromixed couples, including partners navigating differences in communication, attention, time perception, task initiation, sensory experience, and follow-through. Our non-pathologizing approach welcomes people who identify as neurodivergent, whether or not they use or have pursued a diagnosis.
What to expect from your therapist
- Validation of both partners rather than assigning one person the role of the problem.
- Attention to the relationship cycle and the needs underneath each partner's response.
- Practical communication changes grounded in how the partners actually experience the relationship.
Therapists offering this service
Fees and insurance
Dragonfly Counseling and Wellness is a private-pay practice and does not bill or accept insurance.
Couples intake: $225
Ongoing couples sessions: $170
Payment is due at the time of service. A superbill may be available when appropriate, but insurance reimbursement depends on the client's plan and is not guaranteed.
Ready to begin?
If you and your partner are ready to begin neuromixed couples counseling, request the first appointment below.
Schedule a Couples IntakeLocation and availability
In-person appointments are available at our office in downtown Columbus. Telehealth appointments are available to eligible clients located in Ohio, and any other state where our providers are licensed, at the time of the session. When scheduling permits, Dragonfly aims to offer the first appointment within three days.
What happens next
- Request an intake. Choose the intake option so the team can confirm availability promptly.
- Confirm fit and fees. Dragonfly confirms the service, private-pay structure, appointment format, and provider availability.
- Attend the intake. Both partners begin identifying the communication cycle and the goals they want counseling to address.
- Plan continued work. If the service fits, the therapist helps the couple schedule the next appointment before the intake concludes.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need an ADHD or autism diagnosis?
No. Dragonfly has a non-pathologizing approach to neurodiversity and respects each individual’s and couples’ preferences when it comes to diagnostic or identity labels. What matters is that partners recognize meaningful differences in how they communicate, direct attention, process emotion, approach routines, or experience the world.
Will the therapist decide which partner is communicating correctly?
The therapist focuses on the cycle between partners and validates each person's experience. The goal is to help each partner understand the other, not to require one person to communicate like the other.
What if an ADHD diagnosis means something different to each partner?
An ADHD diagnosis or self-understanding can bring relief, clarity, or validation to one partner while confirming years of frustration or hurt for the other. Counseling makes room for both experiences without using ADHD as a source of blame, a defect to correct, or an excuse that dismisses relational impact.
Is this couples' counseling private pay?
Yes. Dragonfly does not bill or accept insurance. The couples' intake is $225, and ongoing sessions are $170. A superbill may be available when appropriate, but reimbursement is not guaranteed.
Should we schedule an intake or a consultation?
Schedule an intake when both partners are ready to begin. The free 15-minute consultation is a secondary option when you need to confirm whether the service or provider is likely to fit before scheduling.
Build a way of communicating that respects both partners
Start with a First Appointment, or request a brief consultation to confirm your chosen provider is a good fit for you.