Couples Therapy in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Change the pattern and find your way back.
Couples therapy with Dr. Ehsan Adib Shabahang, a licensed mental health counselor in Cambridge. Private pay. Sessions by secure video across Massachusetts.
Book a free 30-minute consultationINSIGHT BEFORE CHANGE
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UNDERSTANDING CREATES CHOICE
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PATTERNS REVEAL THEMSELVES
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AWARENESS SHAPES ACTION
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CHANGE WHAT REPEATS
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INSIGHT BEFORE CHANGE ✦ UNDERSTANDING CREATES CHOICE ✦ PATTERNS REVEAL THEMSELVES ✦ AWARENESS SHAPES ACTION ✦ CHANGE WHAT REPEATS ✦
When the argument is not really the argument
You are not fighting about the dishes
Most couples who come here are not in crisis. They are tired.
The same argument keeps arriving in different clothes. One of you pushes for resolution, the other goes quiet, and both of you end up further from the thing you actually wanted to say. You have had the conversation about having the conversation.
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The same conflict on repeat, with a different surface subject each time.
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Distance that grew slowly enough that neither of you can name when it started.
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Rebuilding after a betrayal, or after a long stretch of one person carrying more.
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Two cultures, two families, two sets of expectations about what a partnership owes.
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Deciding whether to stay, honestly, with someone in the room who is not on either side.
If you are the one reading this at midnight while your partner sleeps, you are the person this page is for.
Couples Therapy
For couples caught in recurring conflict, distance, or disconnection.
Structured therapy focused on the pattern beneath the argument, so you can respond differently when it matters.
- Communication and recurring conflict
- Trust, betrayal, and intimacy
- Intercultural relationship patterns
Individual Therapy
For adults who understand the problem, but still feel stuck in the pattern.
Focused therapy for anxiety, burnout, transitions, and relationship patterns, with clear goals and practical change.
- Anxiety, perfectionism, and burnout
- Relationship patterns and self-trust
- Identity and major life transitions
Your therapist · Cambridge, Massachusetts
Meet Dr. Ehsan Adib Shabahang
I am a licensed mental health counselor and the founder of AtReef Therapy, a Cambridge-based psychotherapy practice for couples and adults.
My work is shaped by clinical training, doctoral research in social psychology, and years spent working across cultures in roles where communication, trust, and misunderstanding had real consequences. That background still informs how I listen for what is said, what is avoided, and the patterns underneath both.
More about Dr. ShabahangSelf-Reflective Relationship Therapy · SRRT
How the work is done
Couples therapy at AtReef is structured, active, and reflective. I use Self-Reflective Relationship Therapy, a research-informed framework I developed, to help couples see recurring patterns and respond with more choice.
The work may also draw from Gottman Method, DBT, CBT, and Jungian psychology when they are useful to your goals.
See the pattern
We slow down the cycle behind recurring conflict, distance, or shutdown so both partners can see what is actually happening.
Interrupt the reaction
We build enough awareness and regulation to create a different response when the familiar reaction starts taking over.
Track real change
We review what is changing between sessions. If the work is not moving, we adjust rather than repeating the same process.
Telehealth · Massachusetts
How online therapy works at AtReef
AtReef is an online therapy practice based in Cambridge. Sessions are held by secure video, so therapy can fit into real life without the commute or waiting room.
Book a free 30-minute consultationSecure video sessions
Therapy at AtReef is online only. Sessions are held through secure video and are not recorded.
Join from a private space
Meet from home, your office, or another private setting with reliable internet and enough privacy to speak openly.
Flexible for couples
Partners can often join from different private locations. For Massachusetts care, you must be physically located in the state during the session.
What changes when the work is right.
FAQs
Common questions
Do you take insurance for couples therapy? Private pay, with out-of-network options
Couples therapy at AtReef is private pay. I can provide a superbill if you want to pursue out-of-network reimbursement, but reimbursement depends on your insurance plan and is not guaranteed. Individual therapy may be available through select insurance plans depending on availability. Current fees are on the rates page .
Where are you located, and do I have to come to Cambridge? Secure video across Massachusetts
AtReef Therapy is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sessions are held by secure video, so you do not need to travel to Cambridge. You can join from anywhere in Massachusetts as long as you are physically located in the state at the time of the session.
Can you see us if we live outside Massachusetts? Location at the time of session matters
What matters is where you are physically located at the time of the session. I can work with clients who are in Massachusetts during sessions. If you live elsewhere or travel frequently, tell me during the consultation so we can determine what is possible or help you find a therapist licensed where you will be.
How long are sessions, and how often? 60-minute sessions with frequency reviewed over time
Sessions are 60 minutes. Most couples begin weekly so there is enough continuity to understand and change the patterns bringing them to therapy. Frequency can be adjusted as the work develops rather than fixed in advance.
What is the free consultation actually for? A conversation about fit, without obligation
The consultation is a 30-minute conversation about what you are navigating, what you are looking for from therapy, and whether my approach feels like the right fit. For couples, it also gives both partners a chance to decide whether this feels like a setting where they can speak honestly. There is no charge and no obligation to continue.
Will you take sides? The focus is the pattern, not picking a winner
I do not approach couples therapy by deciding who is right and who is wrong. I will name behavior clearly, interrupt patterns that are causing harm, and challenge either of you when the work requires it. The goal is to understand what happens between you well enough that both of you can respond differently.
That does not mean treating every behavior as equivalent. If something is unsafe or coercive, I will name that directly.