Discernment Counseling in Austin, TX

Discernment counseling is for couples where one partner is leaning out of the marriage and the other wants to try. It is short-term, and the goal is not to fix the marriage yet. The goal is clarity about what to do next.

Just Mind Counseling offers discernment counseling in Austin, in person and online. At Just Mind, discernment counseling is with Eric Robertson, JD, LPC Associate.

How Discernment Counseling Works

The approach was developed by William Doherty at the University of Minnesota, and you can read more at the Doherty Relationship Institute.

Discernment counseling is a short-term process, usually one to five sessions. Each session includes time with both of you together and time with each of you alone. The partner who is leaning out gets room to think without pressure. The partner who is leaning in gets help showing up at their best. You decide at the end of each session whether to come back for another.

By the end, you and your partner decide on one of three paths forward:

Keep the relationship as it is for now.
Move toward separation or divorce.
Commit to working on the relationship through couples therapy and other resources, with divorce off the table for about six months.

When Discernment Counseling Fits

One of you is leaning out

Divorce has come up, or one of you is close to deciding and the other is not.

Couples therapy stalled

You tried counseling before and it felt like one person was there against their will.

You want to decide well

Whatever you choose, you want to know you looked at it clearly, especially if you have kids.

What Discernment Counseling Is and Isn’t

What it is. A structured way to slow down and make a decision together, with help, when the two of you want different things.

Can it bring closure? Often, yes. If the relationship ends, both of you leave with a clearer picture of what happened and each person’s part in it. That understanding tends to make a separation less bitter, and it matters a lot if you will keep co-parenting. If you choose to stay, you start couples therapy with both people actually on board.

What it is not.

It is not couples therapy. You will not work on communication skills yet.
It is not a way to talk someone into staying.
It is not the right fit if there is violence or fear in the relationship. In that case, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Discernment Counseling vs. Couples Therapy

	Discernment counseling	Couples therapy
Main goal	Decide whether to work on the relationship	Improve the relationship
Who it fits	One partner is leaning out and the other wants to try	Both partners want to work on things
Length	One to five sessions	Usually weekly, often for several months
Session format	Time together plus time with each partner alone	Mostly both partners together
Focus	Clarity and confidence about the future	Communication, conflict and connection

If you are both ready to work on the relationship, our marriage and couples counseling is a better place to start.

Start Discernment Counseling With Eric

Eric Robertson is the Just Mind counselor who offers discernment counseling. Tell our client care team a little about where things stand, and a real person will help you set up a first session with Eric.

What Therapy Looks Like Here

Your first few sessions

Sessions are 60 minutes, with time together and time one on one with each of you. Most couples need one to five sessions, and you decide after each one whether to come back.

How we work

Your counselor stays neutral about the outcome. The work is about understanding how the marriage got here and what each of you added to it, so the decision you make is a clear one.

Not sure where to start? Our client care team can help you figure it out.

Cost and Insurance

Discernment counseling focuses on the relationship rather than one person’s diagnosis, so insurance usually does not cover it. Our rates and insurance page lists self-pay rates.

Online or In Person, Your Call

Sessions are available in person at our Austin offices or online anywhere in Texas.

Short on time?

Online sessions can make scheduling easier when you are juggling work and kids. Learn more about online therapy.

Start With Clarity

Tell us what’s going on. A real person on our team will match you with someone who fits how you like to work.

Meet Your Discernment Counselor

Eric Robertson offers discernment counseling at Just Mind. Before becoming a counselor, he spent more than three decades in family law, mediation and conflict resolution, so he knows how couples reach this point. If you decide to keep working on the marriage, our couples therapists can take it from there.

Eric Robertson, JD, LPC Associate, LCDC-I

Supervised by Lisa Blackwood, LPC-S, LCDC

Ready to talk to someone? Book your first session today.

Related Services

Related services include marriage and couples counseling and individual counseling for adults.