--- title: "Catholic Marriage Counseling in Weston, FL | Counseling with Maria" description: "Catholic marriage counseling in Weston, FL with a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist of thirty years. Faith-informed clinical work, EMDR certified, English or Spanish, in person or by video across Florida." lang: en-US json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": [ "MedicalBusiness", "ProfessionalService" ], "@id": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/#business", "name": "Counseling with Maria", "legalName": "MBGM Consulting LLC", "description": "Bilingual, EMDR-certified LMFT offering couples, anxiety, and trauma therapy in Weston, FL, and telehealth across Florida.", "url": "https://counselingwithmaria.com", "image": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/__l5e/assets-v1/7d3bcbd2-ddaf-43c1-9959-4e32b159272f/maria-van-thienen.jpg", "logo": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/__l5e/assets-v1/7d3bcbd2-ddaf-43c1-9959-4e32b159272f/maria-van-thienen.jpg", "telephone": "(954) 654-6774", "priceRange": "$$$", "founder": { "@id": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/#maria" }, "employee": { "@id": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/#maria" }, "founderName": "Maria Van Thienen, LMFT", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "2645 Executive Park Drive", "addressLocality": "Weston", "addressRegion": "FL", "postalCode": "33331", "addressCountry": "US" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": 26.0823, "longitude": -80.3915 }, "areaServed": [ { "@type": "City", "name": "Weston" }, { "@type": "City", "name": "Fort Lauderdale" }, { "@type": "City", "name": "Pembroke Pines" }, { "@type": "City", "name": "Davie" }, { "@type": "City", "name": "Plantation" }, { "@type": "City", "name": "Sunrise" }, { "@type": "City", "name": "Cooper City" }, { "@type": "City", "name": "Miramar" }, { "@type": "AdministrativeArea", "name": "Florida" }, { "@type": "Place", "name": "Telehealth in Florida" } ], "availableLanguage": [ "English", "Español" ], "provider": { "@id": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/#maria" }, "serviceType": [ "Couples Counseling", "Marriage Therapy", "Anxiety Therapy", "Trauma Therapy", "EMDR Therapy", "Christian Marriage Counseling", "Catholic Marriage Counseling", "Telehealth therapy in Florida" ], "availableService": [ { "@type": "MedicalTherapy", "name": "Couples Counseling", "url": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/couples-counseling" }, { "@type": "MedicalTherapy", "name": "Anxiety Therapy", "url": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/anxiety-therapy" }, { "@type": "MedicalTherapy", "name": "Trauma Therapy (EMDR)", "url": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/trauma-therapy" } ], "paymentAccepted": "Private pay; superbills available on request for possible out-of-network reimbursement" }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/#maria", "name": "Maria Van Thienen", "honorificSuffix": "LMFT", "jobTitle": "Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist", "description": "Bilingual (English/Spanish), EMDR-certified Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 30+ years of experience supporting couples, adults, teens, and children in Weston, FL and via telehealth across Florida.", "image": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/__l5e/assets-v1/7d3bcbd2-ddaf-43c1-9959-4e32b159272f/maria-van-thienen.jpg", "url": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/meet-maria", "knowsLanguage": [ "English", "Español" ], "knowsAbout": [ "Couples Counseling", "Marriage Therapy", "Anxiety Therapy", "Trauma Therapy", "EMDR", "Depression", "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy", "Mindfulness-Based Therapy" ], "hasCredential": [ { "@type": "EducationalOccupationalCredential", "credentialCategory": "license", "name": "LMFT (FL) MT3115" }, { "@type": "EducationalOccupationalCredential", "credentialCategory": "certification", "name": "EMDR Certified" } ], "worksFor": { "@id": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/#business" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/REPLACE-ME", "https://www.google.com/maps/place/?cid=REPLACE-ME" ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/#website", "name": "Maria Van Thienen, LMFT", "url": "https://counselingwithmaria.com", "inLanguage": [ "en-US", "es-ES" ], "publisher": { "@id": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/#business" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is this annulment counseling?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. This is clinical marriage and family therapy. It does not replace pre-Cana, a marriage retreat, your parish, or your priest, and it is not annulment counseling." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can we keep seeing our priest at the same time?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes, and it is welcome. Maria is a therapist, not clergy, and has no interest in competing with your parish or your prayer life." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What about family pressure?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Extended family is often part of the picture, especially in Weston. Parents, godparents and siblings hold opinions, and the pressure in both directions is something the work can name openly." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What are the practical details?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Sessions are in the Weston office or by secure video across Florida, in English or Spanish. EMDR is available where older injury sits underneath. Sessions are $250, self-pay, with a superbill available." } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Service", "serviceType": "Catholic Marriage Counseling", "name": "Catholic Marriage Counseling in Weston, FL", "url": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/catholic-marriage-counseling", "areaServed": [ { "@type": "City", "name": "Weston" }, { "@type": "City", "name": "Fort Lauderdale" }, { "@type": "City", "name": "Pembroke Pines" }, { "@type": "City", "name": "Davie" }, { "@type": "City", "name": "Plantation" }, { "@type": "City", "name": "Sunrise" }, { "@type": "City", "name": "Cooper City" }, { "@type": "City", "name": "Miramar" }, { "@type": "AdministrativeArea", "name": "Florida" }, { "@type": "Place", "name": "Telehealth in Florida" } ], "availableLanguage": [ "English", "Español" ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Specialties", "item": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/specialties" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Catholic Marriage Counseling", "item": "https://counselingwithmaria.com/catholic-marriage-counseling" } ] } ] --- [![](/__l5e/assets-v1/7a69d5a3-a3ea-40ca-8fb1-b87d03f5f058/logo-mark.png)](/) Specialties - [Couples Counseling](/couples-counseling) - [Anxiety Therapy](/anxiety-therapy) - [Trauma and EMDR](/trauma-therapy) - [EMDR Therapy](/emdr-therapy) - [Christian Marriage Counseling](/christian-marriage-counseling) - [Christian Couples Counseling](/christian-couples-counseling) - [Catholic Marriage Counseling](/catholic-marriage-counseling) - [All specialties](/specialties) Areas We Serve - [Weston](/areas-we-serve) - [Fort Lauderdale](/areas-we-serve) - [Pembroke Pines](/areas-we-serve) - [Davie](/areas-we-serve) - [Plantation](/areas-we-serve) - [Miramar](/areas-we-serve) - [Hollywood](/areas-we-serve) - [All areas](/areas-we-serve) About - [Meet Maria](/meet-maria) - [Approach](/approach) - [Rates](/rates) - [Frequently Asked Questions](/faq) [Contact](/contact)[EN](/)[ES](/es) [(954) 654-6774](tel:+19546546774)[Contact Maria](/contact) Catholic Marriage Counseling # Catholic marriage counseling with a therapist who understands the _sacrament_. For a Catholic couple, a marriage in trouble is not only a relationship in trouble. It is a sacrament you stood inside a church and entered, in front of people whose opinion still matters to you, and that changes what admitting you are struggling costs. Maria Van Thienen is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Weston with thirty years of practice. She is Catholic. She is not a priest, a deacon, or a parish counselor, and she will not tell you what the Church teaches, because you already know. What she offers is a room where you do not have to explain why leaving is not simply an option you can weigh like any other. [Contact Maria](/contact) [How she works](/approach) ![A couple walking together at golden hour, hands loosely held](/assets/gallery-1683975-ij_sossF.jpg) The particular weight Catholic couples carry ## What often goes unsaid out _loud_. - Arriving later than you should have, because admitting the marriage is failing feels like admitting a failure of faith - Showing up to Mass together looking perfectly fine while nothing at home is fine - Extended family who hold opinions about the marriage and hold them loudly - Pressure to stay that is as heavy as the reasons to go, with neither being said out loud - Families from Colombia, Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America, where the marriage does not belong only to the two of you - Parents, godparents and siblings who are already part of the conversation The weight you are carrying ## The marriage does not belong only to the _two of you_. Many Catholic couples arrive later than they should have. Not because they are stubborn, but because admitting the marriage is failing feels like admitting a failure of faith, and because a couple who is struggling often keeps showing up to Mass together looking perfectly fine. There is also the extended family. In Weston, a great many families came from Colombia, Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America, and the marriage does not belong only to the two of you. Parents, godparents and siblings hold opinions and hold them loudly. Sometimes the pressure to stay is as heavy as the reasons to go, and neither is being said out loud. Where therapy sits alongside the Church ## Not a substitute for your parish, your priest, or your _prayer life_. Therapy is not a substitute for your parish, your priest, or your own prayer life. It does not replace pre-Cana or a marriage retreat, and it is not annulment counseling. It is the practical work: the patterns you have both fallen into, the arguments that follow the same track every time, the resentment that has been quietly accumulating for years. Those are not spiritual failures. They are the ordinary mechanics of two people living closely for a long time, and they respond to skilled work. Some couples are seeing a priest at the same time. That is welcome, and Maria has no interest in competing with it. An honest word ## Whatever you decide, decide it having genuinely _tried_. Some marriages should not continue, and a therapist who tells you otherwise before meeting you is selling something. Maria will not do that. What she will do is make sure that whatever you decide, you decide it having genuinely tried, rather than having run out of ways to talk to each other. Sessions are in the Weston office or by video across Florida, in English or Spanish. Where an older injury sits underneath the present conflict, EMDR is available. Sessions are $250, self-pay, with a superbill available. Areas served Catholic marriage counseling sessions in **Weston, FL** and nearby Broward communities, Weston, Fort Lauderdale, Pembroke Pines, Davie, Plantation, Sunrise, Cooper City, and Miramar. Secure telehealth is available across the state of Florida. Related reading: [Christian marriage counseling](/christian-marriage-counseling) · [Christian couples counseling](/christian-couples-counseling) · [couples counseling in Weston](/couples-counseling) · [all specialties](/specialties) . Learn more about [how Maria works](/approach), [her background](/meet-maria), and [session rates](/rates), or [reach out](/contact). Common questions ## A few _specifics_. ### Is this annulment counseling? No. This is clinical marriage and family therapy. It does not replace pre-Cana, a marriage retreat, your parish, or your priest, and it is not annulment counseling. ### Can we keep seeing our priest at the same time? Yes, and it is welcome. Maria is a therapist, not clergy, and has no interest in competing with your parish or your prayer life. ### What about family pressure? Extended family is often part of the picture, especially in Weston. Parents, godparents and siblings hold opinions, and the pressure in both directions is something the work can name openly. ### What are the practical details? Sessions are in the Weston office or by secure video across Florida, in English or Spanish. EMDR is available where older injury sits underneath. Sessions are $250, self-pay, with a superbill available. ## Ready to take the _next step_? English or Español · in person in Weston or telehealth across Florida [Contact Maria](/contact) ![Maria Van Thienen, LMFT](/__l5e/assets-v1/7a69d5a3-a3ea-40ca-8fb1-b87d03f5f058/logo-mark.png) A calm, non-judgmental space to _reconnect_ with yourself and the people you love. Counseling with Maria · Maria Van Thienen, LMFT · Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Florida (MT3115). EMDR-certified. Bilingual English / Español. #### Office 2645 Executive Park Drive Weston, FL 33331 Telehealth across Florida [(954) 654-6774](tel:+19546546774) #### Specialties - [Couples Counseling](/couples-counseling) - [Anxiety Therapy](/anxiety-therapy) - [Trauma and EMDR](/trauma-therapy) - [EMDR Therapy](/emdr-therapy) - [Christian Marriage Counseling](/christian-marriage-counseling) - [Christian Couples Counseling](/christian-couples-counseling) - [Catholic Marriage Counseling](/catholic-marriage-counseling) #### Areas We Serve - [Fort Lauderdale](/couples-counseling-fort-lauderdale) - [Pembroke Pines](/couples-counseling-pembroke-pines) - [Hollywood](/couples-counseling-hollywood) - [Miramar](/couples-counseling-miramar) - [Davie](/couples-counseling-davie) - [Plantation](/anxiety-therapy-plantation) #### Explore - [Home](/) - [Meet Maria](/meet-maria) - [Couples](/couples-counseling) - [Anxiety](/anxiety-therapy) - [Trauma and EMDR](/trauma-therapy) - [Approach](/approach) - [Rates](/rates) - [Contact](/contact) - [Privacy Policy](/privacy) #### Begin [Contact Maria](/contact) [EN](/)[ES](/es) In a crisis or emergency This site is not monitored for emergencies. If you or someone you love is in crisis, call or text [988](tel:988) (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or call [911](tel:911). Contacting the practice through this website does not establish a therapist-client relationship. © 2026 MBGM Consulting LLC. Therapy outcomes vary by person, situation, and engagement; no specific results are guaranteed. [Privacy](/privacy.html)[Terms](/terms.html)[Cookies](/cookie.html)[Disclosures](/disclaimers.html)[Good Faith Estimate](/good-faith-estimate.html)[Website by Automaus.ai](https://automaus.ai)