Holding Space for More Than One: Couples Therapy
Picture this: the same skills that make you great at individual therapy might be exactly what derail a couples session.
In this episode, Morgen and Ashley sit down with Dr. Laura Eubanks Gambrel, a certified Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) couples therapist, supervisor, and trainer with more than 20 years of clinical experience.
Laura breaks down what makes couples therapy fundamentally different from individual work—and why being a skilled individual therapist doesn’t automatically prepare you for what happens when there are more than one nervous system, attachment history, and an entire relationship dynamic.
Guest Bio:
Laura Eubanks Gambrel, PhD, LMHC (WA), LMFT(NC), LPC (CO) is a therapist, supervisor, researcher, author, and trainer with over 20 years of clinical experience specializing in couples therapy and therapist training. As a Certified Emotionally Focused Couples Therapist and EFCT Supervisor-in-Training, she is deeply grounded in experiential therapy, attachment science, and the transformative power of EFT. She is also an AAMFT Approved Supervisor and a certified mindfulness instructor. Based on her experience supervising hundreds of therapists as a faculty member and in private practice, Dr. Gambrel brings a developmentally attuned approach that meets clinicians at their learning edge. Supervisees value her ability to hold clinical complexity with compassion, balance support with challenge, integrate soulfulness with science, and offer clear guidance that builds confidence and competence in the vulnerable work of couples therapy - particularly in learning to trust the EFT process. Dr. Gambrel has a private practice, Relational Mindfulness - Therapy and Consultation, where she provides therapy, supervision, and training in person in Bellingham, Washington and virtually around the world.
Guest Contact Info:
Website: www.relational-mindfulness.org
Email laura@relational-mindfulness.org
LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/gambrel
Host Bios:
Ashley Charbonneau, LCSW, LAC, ACS, is a therapist, evaluator, clinical supervisor, consultant, and educator. Her clinical expertise centers on working with individuals impacted by the legal system, grounded in a commitment to offender accountability, survivor healing, and restorative justice.
Ashley has developed multiple 45-hour training programs on clinical supervision and is the author of The Resilient Therapist (Bloomsbury, 2026) and Supporting Clients of Sexual Trauma: Establishing Safety, Processing Shame, and Fostering Healthy Intimacy (PESI, 2026). She provides training nationally on restorative justice, addiction, clinical supervision, working with individuals who have committed sexual offenses, professional boundaries in therapy, and mandatory reporting.
To contact Ashley directly, her website is: https://www.ensopllc.com/
Morgen Villegas, LCSW, LAC, ACS, is a therapist, writer, consultant, and an EMDR International Association Approved Consultant. Through her practice, Vida Idílica Therapy & Consulting, she specializes in helping women heal from trauma, attachment wounds, emotional neglect, and the lasting effects of overfunctioning and caregiving. Using a blend of Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), she helps clients reconnect with themselves and create lives that feel more authentic, spacious, and connected.
Morgen also provides consultation to EMDR therapists seeking greater confidence and nuance in working with complex trauma. Drawing from both professional expertise and lived experience, she is passionate about helping people move beyond "faking fine" and toward lasting healing. She is the author of Shadows to Light, a collection of stories and reflections on emotional neglect, motherhood, and breaking intergenerational cycles. Morgen lives in Colorado with her husband, two sons, rescue dog Raven, and an ever-growing stack of library books waiting to be read.
To contact Morgen directly, her website is: vida-idilica.com
