John is a psychotherapist, educator and spiritual teacher based in Austin, TX. He is best known for practicing the very leading edge of couples therapy techniques and trains other couples therapists and clinicians internationally. John sees adults for a variety of issues including couples therapy, individual counseling, depression, anxiety, wanting to find a partner/dating and spiritual/existential issues. He sees couples wanting to deepen their connection, improve their communication, and strengthen their intimacy. John also leads weekly therapy groups that focus on building relationship and communication skills and that deepen your emotional intelligence, empathy, authenticity, and transparency. His non-denominational spiritual study groups use growth principles common to world traditions to help you deepen your presence and sense of peace. Members learn in-depth mindfulness tools and engage in contemplative practice.
John takes a holistic mind/body/spirit approach to life’s problems and has studied many healing and spiritual growth traditions, including time spent living in indigenous villages in Central and South America, studying ancient and natural approaches to health and well-being. He comes from an international background. His mom is Cuban and his dad, American, and he has lived and worked in several different countries. He speaks three languages and prioritizes offering multicultural counseling services. John welcomes clients of all sexual orientations, relationship lifestyles, political beliefs, cultures and nationalities, and teaches workshops on appreciating diverse perspectives.
John is also immersed in the cutting edge of psychological science. He has regularly studied with many of the world’s top researchers and clinicians in the areas of depth psychology, couples therapy, somatic process, affective neuroscience, regulation theory, interpersonal neurobiology and attachment theory. After obtaining his Masters degree in Counseling with a specialty in Marriage and Family Therapy, John studied in person with leading thinkers such as Drs. Diana Fosha, Alan Schore, Dan Siegel, Pat Ogden, Steve Porges, and others.
John spent 6 years training with world-renowned couples therapist Dr. Stan Tatkin, widely considered one of the best couples therapists in the world. Dr. Tatkin is known for bringing neuroscience research to couples therapy and John has had the opportunity to be on the front lines of that process, watching as the leading institutes and theories are updated according to that new science. John eventually began helping Dr. Tatkin conduct trainings as his first Teaching Assistant in the PACT approach and later earned an invitation as 1 of 12 couples therapists in the world to form the founding core faculty of Dr. Tatkin’s PACT Institute, a professional organization dedicated to training couples therapists worldwide in the latest neuroscience and attachment-informed concepts and techniques.
John has clients throughout the central Texas area (Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas) and consults for clients in New York and Los Angeles. He offers advanced couples therapy as well as individual and group counseling. While seeing a dedicated couples therapy specialist can be more expensive than seeing a non-specialist, couples generally accomplish their goals faster and more efficiently working with a specialist. Couples who see a dedicated couples therapist such as John typically see more progress and gain more clarity in a shorter amount of time, ultimately making the therapy cost-effective. One of the most important challenges in couples work is understanding what the actual issues are, which may not be what they seem to be, and to conceptualize the most effective path to achieving partners’ goals. A dedicated specialist in couples therapy like John can accurately diagnose the real issues and design an effective treatment plan to address those issues, using therapy time to build real skill in important areas.
John was voted the Best Mental Health Professional in 2018 by the readers of Austin Fit Magazine. John believes in a comprehensive approach to wellness that combines personal mental and emotional health, relationship health, and physical health. His work merges the latest scientific approaches to personal growth work with time-tested methods of change. He takes a positive, strengths-based attitude in his work with clients. With individuals, John offers group therapy, and advanced specialization in the treatment of depression, anxiety, existential and self-esteem issues. For single individuals seeking a long-term partner, John offers a 3-month program to help them find partners and start healthy, meaningful relationships. He is intimately familiar with the frustrations of dating in this day and age, and has strategies to help singles date more effectively and more enjoyably.
John has a B.A. in History from the University of Texas at Austin and a Masters in Counseling with a focus on Marriage and Family Therapy from St. Edward’s University. He lectures regularly in the areas of relationship health, the new science of partnership, and personal growth, and is a professor of Private Practice in the graduate counseling program at St. Edward’s University. He has presented to the Association of Marriage & Family Therapists, Attachment Parenting International, and many other counseling organizations. He presented Bringing Interpersonal Neuroscience into Couples Therapy at the 2016 Psychological Attachment, Trauma & Intimacy Conference alongside Drs. Amir Levine and Dick Schwartz. John is a featured expert in Dr. Diane Poole-Heller’s Therapy Mastermind Circle and presented at the Extraordinary Family Life Conference in 2013 alongside Dr. Dan Siegel and Dr. Shefali Tsabary. In 2017, John led a relationship wellness program at Google, Inc. and has been invited to help other businesses and teams optimize their relationships both at home and in the workplace.
In addition to being a therapist, John is also the Founder and CEO of Ready Set Love®, an online program for couples that deepens connection and strengthens their relationship. He is also the Founder of Presence Therapy, an approach to couples therapy based on his experience helping hundreds of couples, and conducts a local training group for couples therapists. He is the former member of the Board of Directors of AustinINConnection, an Austin-based non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of families through attachment and neuroscience education. He partners with Health & Wellness companies such as nutrition and fitness businesses to help spread a message of wellness in the community.
Professional Affiliations:
- Austin IN (Interpersonal Neurobiology) Connection
- Austin Group Psychotherapy Society (AGPS)
- Texas Counseling Association (TCA)
Read more about John’s approach to therapy by clicking below.
Read About John’s Approach to Therapy Here
