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Young adulthood can bring exciting possibilities while also leaving you wondering whether you’re making the right decisions about your life, relationships, career, or future. You may feel pressure to know who you are and where you’re headed while still trying to figure those things out. Or you may be building a life with someone you love and discovering that deciding what you want together—while continuing to grow as individuals—can be more complicated than you expected. Therapy can provide a place to slow down, understand yourself more clearly, and become more intentional about the life and relationships you are building.

I especially enjoy working with young adults, individuals, and couples navigating identity, relationships, major decisions, and transitions into new stages of adulthood. These years can involve questions about independence, career, family, commitment, values, and what you want your future to look like. Rather than assuming there is one “right” path, I help clients explore what matters most to them, understand what has shaped them, and make choices that feel more consistent with the person they want to become.

My approach is warm, collaborative, and deeply relational. I believe you are the expert on your own experience, but that doesn’t mean you’re expected to figure everything out on your own. I take an active role in therapy by helping you recognize patterns, consider new perspectives, and connect what you are learning about yourself to meaningful changes outside the therapy room. I want you to feel genuinely heard and supported while also being appropriately challenged when that can help you grow.

With couples, I particularly enjoy working with partners who are building a life together and navigating the decisions, expectations, and transitions that come with commitment. You may be trying to communicate more effectively, understand differences between you, navigate changing roles or expectations, or determine what you want the next stage of your relationship to look like. I help couples slow down their interactions, understand each partner’s perspective, and become more intentional about the kind of relationship they want to create together.

My therapeutic approach is person-centered and holistic, which means our work is tailored to you rather than requiring you to fit into a predetermined formula. We may explore how your relationships, experiences, values, and past have shaped the way you understand yourself and approach important decisions today. At the same time, therapy should be useful beyond the therapy room. Together, we can develop greater insight, confidence, and practical tools for navigating your life and relationships with more clarity and intention.

Hannah Darden is a master’s-level Clinical Mental Health Counseling intern providing counseling at Stanford Couples Counseling’s North Dallas office under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Fast, Psy.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist (TX #38062). Hannah earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Baylor University. Her clinical experience includes working with adults from diverse backgrounds navigating emotional, relational, and life challenges. Her clinical interests include young adulthood, identity development, relationship development, couples counseling, life transitions, and navigating major life and relationship decisions.

Hannah Darden is available virtually and in our North Dallas office.

You may love your partner deeply and still wonder how the two of you became so disconnected. Maybe conversations that once felt easy now turn into arguments, defensiveness, or silence. You keep having the same conflicts without resolving them, or you feel a growing “space between” you and the person who once felt closest to you. If you want to reconnect but aren’t sure how to get there, couples therapy can help you understand what is happening between you and begin creating something different.

I work with couples who want to better understand one another, break painful patterns of conflict, and rebuild emotional connection. Often, what looks like an argument about communication, responsibilities, intimacy, or another recurring issue has something deeper underneath it. I help partners slow down those interactions and understand the emotions, needs, fears, and beliefs driving the pattern so they can respond to each other differently.

My approach is compassionate, collaborative, and relationship-focused. I want both partners to experience therapy as a place where they can be honest, feel understood, and take the vulnerable risks necessary for meaningful change. Rather than deciding who is right or wrong, we work together to understand the relationship the two of you have created and how each of you can help close the unwanted “space between.” Love, trust, forgiveness, and emotional safety can be rebuilt when partners learn to show up differently for one another.

My clinical approach draws primarily from Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and attachment theory. These approaches help couples understand how emotions and attachment needs influence conflict, identify beliefs that affect how they see themselves and their partner, and learn healthier ways to express what they need from one another. The goal is not simply to communicate better during therapy, but to create new patterns of connection that continue outside the therapy room.

For clients who want their Christian faith to be part of counseling, I also offer faith integration. My graduate training in both counseling and theology allows us to thoughtfully incorporate Christian beliefs, values, and spiritual concerns into therapy to the degree that you want them included. Faith integration is always based on the client’s preferences and is not required to work with me.

John Bautista is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate in the state of Texas (#100806) under the supervision of Lauren Guenther, LPC-S (#71198). John earned both his Master’s in Counseling and Master’s in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He is particularly passionate about helping couples move from disconnection toward greater understanding, vulnerability, trust, and emotional closeness.

You may find yourself overthinking conversations, questioning your decisions, struggling to feel confident in who you are, or repeating the same patterns in relationships even when you know they are not working. Maybe you are navigating a major life transition, trying to understand what you want from a relationship, or feeling caught between who you have been and who you want to become. Therapy can give you a place to slow down, understand what is happening beneath the surface, and begin making meaningful changes.

I work with young adults, individuals, and couples experiencing anxiety, perfectionism, self-esteem concerns, relationship difficulties, identity questions, and life transitions. Rather than focusing only on symptoms, I help clients understand the patterns they have developed, where those patterns may have come from, and whether they are still serving them. Together, we can work toward greater self-understanding while also developing practical ways to create change in your everyday life and relationships.

My approach is warm, collaborative, curious, and relational. I want you to feel genuinely seen and understood while also helping you move toward the changes that brought you to therapy. I use evidence-based approaches within a systemic framework, which means we may explore not only what is happening within you, but also how your relationships, family experiences, environment, and past have shaped the way you see yourself and connect with others.

For couples, conflict is often about much more than the issue you are arguing about. Repeated disagreements can reflect deeper patterns involving trust, emotional connection, communication, expectations, or the ways each partner responds when they feel hurt or disconnected. I help couples identify these patterns, communicate more effectively, strengthen their emotional connection, and create a relationship that feels more secure and fulfilling. My role is not to take sides, but to help both partners feel understood while developing a clearer picture of the relationship they are creating together.

I draw from the Gottman Method and the Developmental Model of Couples Therapy, which incorporates attachment, differentiation, and an understanding of how relationships develop and change over time. I am currently completing Level 1 training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy.

Alana Donley is a master’s-level counseling intern completing her Master of Science in Counseling at Southern Methodist University, where she is pursuing training in both professional counseling and marriage and family therapy. She completed her practicum at the SMU Center for Family Counseling, providing counseling to individuals, couples, and groups. Alana is a scholarship recipient, an outstanding student nominee, and a member of Chi Sigma Iota, the counseling academic and professional honor society. She is also a student member of the Texas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and a member of Relational Therapists of Dallas.

Her clinical interests include couples and premarital counseling, anxiety, perfectionism, relationship concerns, young adulthood, life transitions, self-esteem, and identity development.

You may appear successful on the outside while feeling overwhelmed on the inside. Others see someone who is capable, dependable, and accomplished, but privately you wrestle with anxiety, overthinking, perfectionism, burnout, or the feeling that you can never quite do enough. Perhaps your mind rarely slows down, you second-guess decisions, or you feel pressure to keep achieving even when you’re running on empty. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone—and you don’t have to navigate it by yourself.

I enjoy working with adults and couples who are facing anxiety, perfectionism, burnout, relationship concerns, career and academic pressures, and significant life transitions. Many of my clients are professionals, leaders, graduate students, healthcare providers, educators, or others who carry tremendous responsibility while quietly struggling beneath the surface. Together, we’ll work to better understand what’s keeping you stuck, develop practical tools for lasting change, and help you move forward with greater confidence, peace, and purpose.

My approach is warm, collaborative, and practical. I believe you are the expert on your own life, and my role is to provide a supportive space where you feel understood, challenged, and encouraged. I draw from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and the Gottman Method to help clients quiet the mental noise, overcome unhelpful patterns, strengthen relationships, and build lives that are more aligned with their values.

Before becoming a therapist, I spent many years serving in executive leadership, the information services and technology industries, higher education, military family advocacy, and nonprofit service. I also spent several years as a stay-at-home mother and community volunteer. These diverse experiences allow me to appreciate the unique challenges of leadership, demanding careers, military life, parenting, major life transitions, and the pressure of balancing multiple responsibilities. My goal is to combine practical wisdom with compassionate care to help clients build resilience, make confident decisions, and create meaningful, lasting change.

Margaret Dwiggins, PhD, is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate in Texas (#100973), supervised by Dr. Shannon Moseley, LPC-S, and Shannon Kouser, LPC-S. She holds a PhD in Educational Psychology, with research focused on smartphone use, fear of missing out (FOMO), attention, and learning, providing her with unique insight into how digital overload, comparison, and constant distraction can affect focus, confidence, relationships, and emotional well-being. She also holds master’s degrees in Counseling, Psychology, and Business and is both a Professional Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation and a Board Certified Coach.

Working with me, I’d hope you’d expect a warm and inviting environment to share your hard truths. I know therapy can be a stressful environment, especially for new clients, and my goal is to make this a safe space for anyone who comes in. I will strive to understand each situation holistically and draw on my education to recognize just how complex people, relationships, and families are, in order to meet you where you’re at in your process. Through our time together, I hope you feel like the space I created for you left you feeling empowered, valued, and heard.

I am motivated by the belief that there needs to be empathetic and passionate professionals in the field of therapy. I’ve always felt a pull towards understanding and connecting with everyone I come across. Relationships in every dynamic are an important part of everyone’s life, and I draw on my positive family experience as a guiding light to be an impactful partner through your process. I am eager to build on my clinical skills, expand my experience, and support couples’ journeys for meaningful growth and healing.

Julia Krantz is a Master’s in Social Work intern supervised by Emily Clark. She is currently working on her MSW at the University of Texas at Arlington with a focus on children and families. Prior to this, she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. After earning her bachelor’s degree, Julia spent four months in Cape Town, South Africa, working with children and families from underserved communities, where she fell in love with the field of Social Work. This experience taught her the value of connection, psychosocial education, and strengthening family bonds. Julia has had ample education in intimate partner violence, children and family counseling, human behavior, and diverse populations. She’s worked in high school settings with young adults ages 14-17 as her first graduate-level internship. Her strengths are in Solution Focused Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Therapy, and she is newly trained on Gottman Level 1.

Major life changes can leave you feeling unsteady even when they are necessary or ultimately positive. A divorce, career transition, new baby, relationship shift, family conflict, or other unexpected change can disrupt routines, identities, and relationships that once felt familiar. You may know intellectually that you will get through it while still feeling anxious, overwhelmed, disconnected, or unsure of what comes next.

I work with adults, couples, and parents navigating significant transitions, relationship difficulties, anxiety, depression, separation and divorce, parenting stress, and workplace or career concerns. My goal is to help you better understand what is happening beneath the surface while also developing practical ways to cope with what is happening right now. Therapy can be a place to strengthen resilience, make sense of painful patterns, and begin responding to difficult circumstances with greater clarity and confidence.

My clinical approach is grounded in attachment theory, with an emphasis on emotional safety, connection, and understanding how earlier relationships can shape the way we experience ourselves and others today. Together, we may explore the relational patterns, beliefs, and emotional responses that continue to influence your relationships and decisions. I also incorporate skills from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to help clients manage intense emotions, tolerate distress, communicate more effectively, and navigate difficult situations without becoming overwhelmed by them.

For couples and individuals facing separation or divorce, I bring extensive experience helping clients navigate both the emotional and practical complexity of major relationship transitions. Some clients are trying to repair a strained relationship; others are trying to determine what comes next or how to move through a separation in a healthier way. I work collaboratively to help clients reduce destructive patterns, communicate more clearly, establish healthier boundaries, and make thoughtful decisions for themselves and their families.

I also have significant experience working with parents, including new parents adjusting to the demands and identity changes that accompany parenthood. In addition, my earlier careers in law and financial services give me a particular understanding of professional pressure, workplace conflict, leadership demands, and major career decisions. I work with professionals and executives who may appear highly capable on the outside while privately struggling with stress, uncertainty, relationship strain, or questions about the direction of their lives.

I have also completed training through The Family Peace Initiative and remain committed to supporting individuals and families affected by domestic violence. When safety is a concern, therapy must begin with careful attention to each client’s circumstances, needs, and well-being.

Bianca Milliern is licensed in Texas (#86351) and Florida (#MH13206), is certified in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and brings more than 14 years of private-practice experience to her work. She earned her Master of Science in Counseling Psychology from Palm Beach Atlantic University and completed her graduate internship at the university’s counseling center. Before becoming a therapist, Bianca worked as an attorney and later in financial services, where she obtained Series 7 and 66 licensure. Her clinical interests include relationship and couples therapy, separation and divorce, parenting, adjustment to major life changes, anxiety, depression, workplace conflict, and executive career concerns.