We are a group of marriage counselors and family therapists who specialize in helping people have great relationships. We see couples, individuals, children, and families. We are licensed in Maryland, DC, and Virginia, offering marriage counseling for communication, infidelity, sexual problems, divorce prevention; premarital and prenuptial agreement counseling; as well as family counseling and child and adolescent counseling. We are Clinical Fellows of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, with advanced degrees and decades of experience in the field. We are committed to helping people of diverse racial and cultural backgrounds. Call us or E-mail us to learn more and schedule a free phone consultation.
Elizabeth Sloan, LPC, LCPC, MS, practices in Maryland and Virginia. She holds a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and has worked with couples and families for more than 25 years. More
Dr. Marika Martin, LCMFT, PhD, practices in Maryland. She holds a Doctorate degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and has worked with couples and families for more than 17 years. More
Dr. Kier Maxwell, LCMFT, PhD, practices in Maryland. She holds a Doctorate degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and has worked with couples and families for more than 20 years. More
Jessica Mullins, B.A., is Administrative Coordinator at Caring Couples, Happy Lives. She is available weekdays to help with questions and appointments.
Elizabeth Sloan, LPC, LCPC, who sees clients in both Maryland and Virginia, holds a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and has worked with couples, families, and individuals for more than 25 years. She is the founder of Caring Couples.
While Elizabeth uses many evidence-based approaches, she tailors them to each couple’s needs and style. She draws from Gottman Method Couples Therapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy for Couples, and Imago Relationship Therapy, among others. As a certified Authentic Happiness Coach, she uses positive psychology in her work. She also trains and supervises therapists wanting to gain expertise in couples counseling.
In addition to her work at Caring Couples, Elizabeth has worked in public mental health, substance abuse, and social work settings. She also has experience in health services research, clinical guideline development, and prevention program management.
Elizabeth has helped thousands of clients, and is happy to say that grateful couples send her snapshots of their kids with notes like “Thanks for saving our marriage – without you, this photo would not be possible!”
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Dr. Marika Martin, Phd, LCMFT, who sees clients in Maryland only, holds Doctorate and Master’s degrees in Marriage and Family Therapy as well as a Master’s in Family and Child Studies. She has worked with couples, individuals, and families for more than 17 years. She is a Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist in Maryland and DC, and a Certified Family Life Educator.
She also is trained in a divorce prevention technique called Discernment Therapy and a trauma therapy called EMDR. She works with couples, individuals, children, adolescents, and families on a wide variety of concerns.
She describes her approach as eclectic, because she uses techniques from a variety of therapy models, including Emotion-Focused Therapy for Couples, which focuses on restoring emotional connection. She believes that improving a relationship often depends on addressing underlying communication problems.
Dr. Martin also has extensive training in the use of EMDR, a powerful, short-term, cognitive technique known to create rapid breakthroughs in treating trauma and facilitating personal growth.
She believes that being genuine is an important part of being a therapist, observing that couples are more likely to open up when they feel comfortable and safe, and trust her as their therapist.
She has conducted research on African American university students’ attitudes about marriage, as well as on relationship satisfaction of Black, interracial, and multi-ethnic couples.
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Dr. Kier Maxwell, PhD, LCMFT, who sees clients in Maryland only, holds Doctorate and Master’s degrees in Marriage and Family Therapy. She has worked with couples, individuals, and families for more than 20 years. She is a Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist in Maryland.
Dr. Maxwell is trained in a divorce prevention technique called Discernment Therapy and a trauma resolution process called Critical Incident Stress Debriefing.
She stresses the value of education in promoting relationship health and personal well-being, while also helping couples enrich their emotional connection. She describes her approach as a combination of Gottman Method Couples Therapy and Emotion-Focused Therapy for Couples. She uses many other approaches, as well, and believes it is important to continually learn about new theories, research, and techniques.
Dr. Maxwell’s career has allowed her to help people overcome difficult experiences and flourish in their lives. Over the many years that she has been practicing, she says she has heard almost every concern imaginable.
In addition to her work at Caring Couples, she is an EAP counselor with a Federal law enforcement agency, working with employees and their families on marital and relationship problems, mental health and substance abuse, finances, parenting, grief and bereavement, and eldercare. She also provides Critical Incident Stress Debriefings for Federal employees who have been affected by traumatic incidents. She has developed a deep understanding for the challenges facing law enforcement families.
Questions/Scheduling: 9am-2pm (M-F)
Appointments: 9am-8pm (7 days)
Glenn Dale, MD / McLean, VA / Internet