Counseling for couples

You've been trying. But it's still not working

Couples therapy for partners who love each other but feel stuck – online and built around you.

Online – Licensed in Nevada, Florida, New Jersey, Massachusetts & New Hampshire.

Leo Batalha licensed couple therapist online. Licensed in Nevada, Florida, New Jersey, Massachusetts & New Hampshire
resources

Books I Recommend

These are books I return to — in my practice, in consultations, and in conversations with couples. Not a generic list. Each one is here because it has changed the way I think about relationships or helped a couple I was working with see something differently.

For Couples

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work

John Gottman & Nan Silver

The most research-backed couples book in existence. If you read one book about your relationship, this is it. Gottman spent decades studying what separates couples who thrive from those who don’t — and distilled it into seven concrete practices.

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Fight Right: How Successful Couples Turn Conflict Into Connection

John & Julie Gottman

Most couples fight about the same things for years. This book explains why — and shows how the way you argue matters more than what you argue about. One of the most practical Gottman books for couples in active conflict.

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Take Back Your Marriage

Bill Doherty

A practical guide for couples whose marriage has drifted — not dramatically broken, but quietly disconnected. Doherty writes for real people, not just people in crisis. One of the clearest books I know on intentional partnership.

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Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection

Charles Duhigg

Not a relationship book in the traditional sense — but one of the most useful books on human connection I’ve read. Especially relevant for couples navigating different communication styles, backgrounds, or languages.

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For Engaged Couples

Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love

John & Julie Gottman

Eight structured conversations that every couple should have before — and after — marriage. Trust, conflict, intimacy, money, family, spirituality, dreams. Easy to use, research-based, and genuinely enjoyable. I recommend this to every engaged couple I work with.

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For Intercultural Marriages

Intercultural Marriage: Promises and Pitfalls

Dugan Romano

The essential book for couples navigating two cultures. Romano addresses what no one tells you before you fall in love across a cultural divide — the invisible differences that become visible only after you’ve committed. Required reading for any intercultural couple.

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For Infidelity Recovery

Unfaithful: Hope and Healing After Infidelity

Gary & Mona Shriver

Written by a couple who lived through it. Raw, honest, and faith-based. The Shrivers share how they rebuilt their marriage after adultery and founded a ministry for couples in the same situation. One of the most hope-filled books on this topic

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Anatomy of an Affair: How Affairs, Attractions, and Addictions Develop — and How to Guard Your Marriage

Dave Carder

A clinically and spiritually grounded look at how affairs actually develop — the gradual drift, the rationalizations, the warning signs most couples miss. Useful both for prevention and for recovery. One of the clearest books I’ve found on this subject.

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Clinical Resources

Helping Couples on the Brink of Divorce: Discernment Counseling for Troubled Relationships

Bill Doherty & Steven Harris

The clinical manual behind Discernment Counseling — the protocol I use with couples who aren’t sure they want to stay together. Written for therapists, but accessible to any professional working with couples in crisis. The most important book I’ve read on how to handle mixed-agenda couples.

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