Austin Couples Counselor Daniel Brake, LMFT Associate

I am a Couples Counselor, Psychotherapist, Mindfulness Coach and Stress Reduction Instructor at Mindfulness & Love Psychotherapy in Central Austin.

Daniel Brake, LMFTA, Dr John Gottman, PhD and Dr Julie Gottman (background)

In addition to my master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, I have trained in the Gottman Method of relationship therapy and am a registered facilitator of the Prepare/Enrich premarital assessment.

I specialize in helping couples recover from betrayal, manage life transitions and turn hurtful relationship conflict into opportunities for bonding and reconnection. My approach combines clinically proven techniques for shifting communication and changing behavior with mindfulness-based practices that reduce reactivity and increase compassion and understanding.

I want to help you create the relationship I know you can have.

If you’re reading this, you may feel hopeless. You might think that there’s no way you can get from where you are to having a rich, loving and dynamic relationship.

You can.

I know this, because I’ve lived it. I’ve had a relationship crumble around me. I’ve had a marriage turn into something I no longer wanted to be a part of. I have felt hopeless and angry and lost.

When Molly and I got married, we were both starting over after divorce. We were determined to do it right, and yet fell into a lot of patterns we found familiar. We made mistakes in communication and we didn’t always treat each other with respect. Incidents that should have been bumps in the road turned into major sources of conflict. The difficulty of transitioning to parenthood took us off guard when our son was born.

It was about this time that I started training in the Gottman Method in preparation for my clinical practicum. Suddenly everything made a lot more sense.

Molly Brake and Daniel Brake, Austin Couples, Marriage and Relationship Counseling

Molly Terrell Brake, LMFTA & Daniel Brake, LMFTA

Like most people I’ve met, we didn’t get intentional instruction on how to have an adult relationship.

We had communication strategies that didn’t work, expectations that weren’t realistic, and a lot of fear that if the other person doesn’t act the way you think they should, it means they don’t love you.

By paying attention to the nine core principles of a healthy relationship, Molly and I were able to disarm our conflict, and find compromise and understanding. We learned to connect more deeply than we ever had, and we created a deeply satisfying relationship.

As my business partner and fellow Marriage and Family Therapist Associate, Molly Terrell Brake LMFTA and I navigate a lot of different roles in our share life.

As a pair of married marriage counselors, you might think we never argue, or that our marriage is perfect.

You might think that we have our parenting down and that have kicked all neurosis to the curb. That we suffer no doubts, make no mistakes and never disagree about the best direction to move (or what to eat for dinner).

Actually, we face many of the same challenges in our relationship that you face in yours.

That is why we are such firm believers in bringing intentional effort, understanding, and compassion to every interaction. We experience daily the benefit of the work we have done to make our marriage strong.

Every challenge, every skill as yet unlearned, is another opportunity to make your relationship happier, more satisfying and more resilient.

If you would like more information on my with individuals on issues such as masculinity, anger management, stress reduction, relationship anxiety, and finding work/life balance, please visit my Austin psychotherapy page.

If you are engaged and interested in learning what it takes to have a satisfying and long-lasting relationship in a fun and supportive group atmosphere, check out Austin Premarital Counseling!