A Safe Space to Explore Your Relationship

Many of us never learned how to build healthy relationships. We grow up, fall in love, and carry past hurt, shame, and unmet needs — until it turns into explosive arguments, silence, and wondering, “Is this even going to work?” There is hope. You can heal. You can reconnect. And you can build the deeply fulfilling, loving partnership you’ve always wanted.

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Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
AASECT Certified Sex Therapist
Queer Friendly & Affirming
Online Across Colorado, In-Person in Denver

“Cara clearly brings so much expertise to her work with couples. She is just great at being clear and supportive in guiding couples to move forward in relationships. I refer my clients to her without hesitation, because I know they will be well taken-care of.”

Margie Kaems

Clinical Social Worker & Therapist

Does This Sound Like You?

  • You’re having the same arguments over and over.
  • You feel disconnected and distant from each other.
  • You’re frustrated because your sexual desires are out of sync.
  • You’re reeling in emotions in the aftermath after the affair.
  • You need help deciding if you should separate or divorce.
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partner affair discovery
A picture of Cara Allan, LMFT, CST, ATR-BC

Meet Your Couples Counselor, Cara

Hi, I’m Cara Allan of Couples Counseling of Denver. I’m a licensed marriage and family therapist and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, helping high-achieving couples move from disconnection, hopelessness, and hurt to intimacy, optimism, and healing. For over 20 years, I’ve worked with couples at every stage — from those considering marriage to those who’ve been together for decades and are navigating life with grown children.

I’ve supported couples through just about every relationship challenge, including infidelity, the loss of a loved one, major career changes, illness, and injury. Whatever you’re facing, you’ll find a warm, welcoming, and non-judgmental space where we’ll work to heal your pain, build self-awareness, and grow the skills needed to sustain your relationship for the long haul, together.

At this time, I do not accept insurance. If your plan offers out-of-network benefits for therapy, I can provide a receipt for you to submit for possible reimbursement.

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Feeling Like Roommates Instead of Partners?

I get it. You’re busy with careers, kids, friends, family, travel, fitness, and so much more. Maybe you’re lonely. You’re angry. You might even blame yourself or your partner for not having the relationship that you want and worked so hard for.

DON’T LET THE DISTANCE RUIN YOUR RELATIONSHIP

Keeping your relationship like this often means spiraling into resentment, frequent fighting, and the question hanging over your head, “Should we stay together?” It’s more than feeling stuck — it impacts your personal and professional life, making it hard to stay present, connect with others, or feel like yourself.

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Reconnection and Growth is Possible

All of my clients have been right here right now — wondering about the future and wanting to do whatever it takes to get their relationship back on track, or if you decide to separate or divorce, you do it with respect and grace. Couples counseling can help you communicate more effectively, become tolerant of the differences that you share, and become more understanding of yours and your partner’s imperfections for a happier, loving relationship.

This Could Be Your Relationship

  • Resolved hurt, grief, and forgiveness.
  • Healthy coping skills for tough times.
  • Deeper intimacy, affection, and sexual fulfillment.
  • Peace with yourself and energy for life.
  • Hope for your future together with your partner.
Connect with Cara
A picture of a couple embracing and holding each other.

Rediscover Intimacy and Remember Why You Fell in Love in the First Place

With the support of a trusted, licensed couples therapist, you’ll get the tools to practice self-compassion, better understand your partner, and rebuild the connection that made you fall in love in the first place.

Get Personalized Therapy

Support grounded in empathy and research-backed therapy to help you rebuild your connection.

Learn Effective Communication

Gain the tools you need to communicate effectively and change attachment styles that don’t serve your relationship.

Rebuild Trust and Connection

Work through conflict, rebuild emotional safety, and create a partnership built on honesty and care.

Foster Intimacy

Learn to nurture your emotional and physical bond and create a deeper, more fulfilling connection together.

Healing is Possible

You can have a healthy, loving relationship that leaves you fulfilled instead of depressed. You can feel supported by your partner, you can reconnect emotionally, and you can have the sexual intimacy you want. Hear from clients who found their way back to connection with the help of Couples Counseling of Denver:

Cara is very good at suggesting helpful tools to apply in challenging situations. These tools have proven so useful in improving communication and managing conflict within my relationship! Cara is effective at getting to the root of issues. You can tell that she truly cares about her clients and their well-being. Highly recommended!”

Therapy Client

Cara is incredible. It can be really hard to find a therapist that fits the style of counseling you’re looking for and that balances listening with prompting and moving the session forward. She is empathetic but (my favorite part) will not hesitate to challenge you. I love her style and techniques. You can tell she is just a really good person, non-judgmental, and wants to help.

Therapy Client

Cara is an excellent counselor and has really helped a lot!

Therapy Client

Great communication, thoughtful counselor.

Therapy Client

What Happens After I Reach Out?

You want more for your relationship than this — that’s why you’re here. And you’ve already done the hardest part by knowing you want more for yourself, your partner, and your life together. Here’s what’s going to happen next:

You’ll submit a form.

Ready to take the next step for your relationship? Submit a private form briefly sharing why you’re reaching out, and I’ll be in touch to schedule a free consultation or book your appointment.

You’ll chat with Cara.

I’ll reach out to discuss your goals and what you and your partner are looking to get out of couples counseling. You’ll tell me briefly what’s going on and anything else in this initial discovery phase.

You’ll begin your journey.

You and your partner will begin therapy. You might be scared, but with time, you’ll feel more connected and more confident in yourself, your relationship, and what the future holds for both of you.

Your Relationship Deserves This

You are not alone. The fact that you’ve made it this far shows that you care — about your partner, your future, and the life you’re building together. Whether you’re navigating challenges or simply wanting to grow closer, Couples Counseling of Denver can help.

Take the first step toward a stronger, more connected relationship by filling out the form and briefly sharing what brings you in.

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What Questions Do You Have?

I offer sessions Tuesday through Saturday — afternoons and evenings on Tuesday through Thursday, and daytime on Friday and Saturday — to best accommodate my clients.

As I only take a couple new clients each week, it may take some time for you to get your first appointment. But after that, I will be able to get you in weekly, bi-weekly or monthly depending on what we determine is the best frequency for you.

Some of my clients enjoy the calming, welcoming space of my office, and I’m happy to see you in person if that feels right. 

My Englewood location is 88 Inverness Circle E, E-104, Englewood, CO 80112.

Absolutely! I am a licensed couples counselor serving couples across Colorado. All you have to do is let me know your preference when you submit your form.

It depends on how long you want sessions to be. I charge $250 for a 60-minute session, $375 for a 90-minute session and $500 for a 120-minute session. We can discuss the option that best suits you when you submit your form.

I work with a broad and diverse clientele from young adults to people in their 70’s and beyond. I work with people who are single, married, and divorced and in monogamous or poly relationships. I also work with people contemplating bringing closure to the relationship they are in.

From queer to bisexual to transitioning or trans to straight, you will find a welcoming place here. I also work with bi-racial, bi-cultural couples who have unique challenges and need someone who understands that. While my practice is not a religious counseling practice, I honor and respect any religious views and beliefs that you value.

This is something I hear all the time, and you can choose to come by yourself. We can work on resolving your own issues first, and you might even see that changes in your behavior impact how your partner responds.

It’s also possible that your partner may later decide to attend therapy with you. If your partner doesn’t want to make the changes necessary to improve your marriage after you attend therapy, we can then work on the next steps you want to take.

Not at all! In fact, you don’t even need to be married to come to couples counseling. Premarital counseling can be helpful if you’re a couple who wants to ensure you get your marriage off to a strong start. It can help you set realistic expectations and improve your communication and conflict resolution skills.

Successful relationships are not based on what you have in common or what you agree upon. Instead, healthy relationships are based on whether you handle your differences effectively.

This is one of the most common questions I get, and I’m happy to clarify! Insurance does not consider couples therapy medically necessary.

In order for insurance to cover your therapy, you (or your partner) would need to be identified as the patient. This would mean creating a treatment plan, diagnosing the individual (if applicable), and reporting progress to the insurance company.

Not only is this invasive, it creates a power imbalance where one person is the patient and the other is their support person. To me, this is unethical.

Insurance companies care about claims and diagnostic codes, not your relationship’s growth. That’s why I choose to operate outside of insurance: so that the focus can remain entirely on you, your partner, and your relationship. This allows for greater flexibility, privacy, and a more effective path to healing.

However, you can check with your health insurance plan to see if you have benefits for “out of network” couples counseling/marriage counseling or individual therapy. If so, I can provide a receipt of payment for you to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement directly from them.

I am a licensed marriage and family therapist using science-backed, tried and true methods of therapy. Based on years of research, these methods are used extensively by individual and couples therapists all over the world.

The methods I use include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, the Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT), the Developmental Model of Couples Counseling, and Discernment Counseling.

Sex therapy can help individuals or couples experiencing challenges with desire, arousal, preferences, or any other aspect of their sexual lives.

As an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, I’m trained to support you with whatever concerns you have about your sexuality or sexual relationships. I approach this work with openness and without judgment — I don’t see sex as shameful, embarrassing, or dirty.

Whether your sex life is more conservative or more adventurous, my goal is to help you feel more connected, satisfied, and safe — in a way that’s mutually fulfilling for you and your partner(s).

Every person and every couple have different issues. There is no set time nor is it possible to predict how long therapy will take. Counseling works best if you schedule weekly sessions for several months. As we go along, we can evaluate your progress and goals.

We can then make any changes you may want to the counseling process. We will discuss and work through any barriers you see to reaching your goals. Then together we can identify ways to make sure we maintain the progress that you’ve already made.

That’s completely normal and actually very common. You and your partner may be in different places emotionally, or want different things out of therapy. Part of our work together will be identifying those goals and creating space for both of you to feel heard, supported, and respected.

Therapy doesn’t require you to agree on everything from the start. In fact, uncovering your individual goals often leads to deeper clarity, stronger communication, and a better understanding of your relationship as a whole.