The marriage that became a logistics company.
Long-term drift
Sixteen years married. Three kids. Both careers running. She had stopped wearing perfume because nobody noticed anymore. He had stopped initiating because she always seemed too tired.
Every couple has a story;every journey needs a guide.
I work with couples who are stuck in the same loop and done pretending insight is enough.
The work is structured, direct, and built around your specific pattern. Not open-ended. Not indefinite.
Who I work with
Couples Therapy,Couples in Crisis,Individual
Welcome
You have read the books.
You’ve heard of Love Languages.
You have named the cycle.
You might even know your attachment styles.
And the pattern still runs. Not because you are missing information. Information was never the bottleneck. I know because I had all of it, professionally trained, and my own loop did not care.
That is the layer I built Couple Forward for.
It stops the loop.
Names the wiring.
Builds the relationship you both deserve.
Couple Forward is my clinical practice in Raleigh, and a growing set of tools for the work that happens after insight. Therapy in North Carolina. Coaching available nationwide via telehealth.
The map is not the territory
The MAPSS Analysis™
The MAPSS Analysis™ is the clinical approach I use to understand what’s actually happening underneath the surface of a relationship. It traces the Mind, Attribution, Perspective, Sentiment, and Story running below the daily life of the couple. It surfaces what was unconscious so real change becomes possible, not just symptom management.
Mind
Trigger
Attribution
Loop
Perspective
Survival strategies
Sentiment
Nervous system wiring
Story
Core needs
The MAPSS Analysis™ Case Studies
Two households trying to become one without anyone naming the merge.
Blended family
Second marriage for both. Her two kids lived with them full time. His one lived with his ex but stayed every other weekend. They had been together five years. The house had never quite settled into being a single household.
The partner who had become a coordinator.
Felt unimportant
Eleven years in. Two kids, two careers, one calendar that ran the household. She had become, by accumulation, the person who made everyone else’s life functional. She had not been a primary character in her own marriage in five years.
The affair that revealed the marriage that had already ended.
Infidelity
Twenty-two years married. The affair was hers. Six months with someone she met at a conference. He found out through a text on her open laptop. He had been the steady one. She had been the one everyone thought was unshakeable.
You have one fight. Which side of it are you on?
Every couple runs one loop. Two moves, trained into each other over years. Ten questions names yours.
Your partner goes quiet mid-conversation. What happens in you first?
10 questions. 3 minutes. Your move, named.
Where to begin.
Pick the entry point that fits where you are.
The framework underneath is the same.
Start with the map
The Inner Compass Assessment
A clinical assessment that uncovers the source of your attachment style and translates it into precision solutions to rewire your relationships.
Start working with me
1:1 Sessions
Stuck in a loop. The same fight, the same distance. You want someone who will actually move the needle, not reflect it back at you.
Virtual and in-person · Raleigh, NC
Go all in
REWIRE
90 days, 3 phases, private hub
Ninety days of intentional couples work, with precise clinical guidance, real accountability, and async access, built on the neuroscience of how people change and aimed at how each of you is actually wired.
From the Google reviews
4.8 stars on Google20 five-star reviews
“Highly recommend. Great tools you can apply in everyday life that make a difference. Easy to talk to yet gives great feedback you can grow from. Not your typical "just pay to listen to yourself talk".”
Christian is one of the best counselors I've ever visited. He was able to understand my background based on my family upbringing better than anyone I've seen (in one session!), and I've seen multiple practitioners. He gave me and my then fiancé, now wife, insanely helpful tools that have been critical to having a happy marriage. Our communication is awesome now and it's been foundational for us. He never pushed to keep coming to 'just to talk and then schedule next weeks session' like so many in this field, we had 3-4 sessions and we were good to go. He focuses on fixing problems, not on generating a book of weekly clients. He solves for the couple, not for his business. Absolute best professional in psychology I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. He helped us identify root causes of issues when I thought the root causes were completely different, and our new marriage is rock solid thanks to Christian. If we ever hit bumps and need help, there's nobody else that I'd ever consider.
Christian J. Charette
LMFT
AAMFT Clinical FellowCreator of the MAPSS Analysis™Author of The Map Is Not the Territory
