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Couples therapy and marriage counseling in Newport Beach

Hello, I'm Dr. Jené Verchick, a licensed clinical psychologist with over 26 years of experience. I work with couples in Newport Beach and Orange County via secure, confidential video sessions.

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Newport Beach couples tend to have a particular version of "everything looks fine." The house, the cars, the social life, the kids in good schools. And underneath all of it, a marriage that's running on obligation instead of connection. You might not even be fighting — you've just stopped reaching for each other.

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If you've been thinking about therapy but putting it off because it doesn't feel urgent enough, that quiet disconnection is the urgency. It doesn't get better by ignoring it.

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How I Work with Couples

I take an active role in session. I don't sit back and let you narrate your week while the real issue goes untouched.

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When I see what's happening between you — the avoidance, the polite deflection, the way one of you agrees just to end the conversation — I name it. And I help you engage with each other differently, right there in the moment.

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Most Newport Beach couples I work with are smart, capable people who've tried to manage the relationship the same way they manage everything else — with willpower and logistics. That doesn't work for intimacy. I help you shift from managing to actually connecting.

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What Brings Newport Beach Couples to Therapy

The patterns I see from Newport Beach reflect the unique pressures of the community:
 

• An empty nest revealing how much of the marriage revolved around the kids

• Retirement creating more time together than you've had in decades — and exposing how disconnected you've become

• Financial success creating tension instead of closeness — disagreements about spending, giving to adult children, estate planning

• Intimacy that faded gradually until neither of you knows how to get it back

• One partner whose career or social life has become the center of everything, leaving the other feeling invisible

• A betrayal that would be devastating if it surfaced in a community this close-knit
   

Premarital Counseling

I also work with couples before marriage — particularly second marriages where both partners are bringing assets, children, and lessons from a relationship that didn't work. Premarital counseling is about building the skills to navigate those complexities before they become the recurring arguments of your marriage.

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26+ Years of Experience

Over two decades of working with couples has taught me that the relationships that look the most put-together from the outside are often the ones most quietly falling apart on the inside. The couples who do best in therapy are the ones who stop performing and start being honest. I make that possible.

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What Clients Say

"When our kids moved out, we honestly didn’t know what to do with each other. We had spent decades focused on being parents, and suddenly it was just us again. Dr. Verchick helped us reconnect in ways we hadn’t imagined. We laugh together now, plan trips, and actually enjoy this new chapter. I feel like I got my partner back."

"Retirement hit us harder than expected. We thought it would be easy, but instead we were stepping on each other’s toes and arguing all the time. Dr. Verchick helped us figure out how to balance togetherness with space, and how to actually enjoy this season of life. It’s been such a relief—we finally feel like a team again."

"We’ve been very fortunate financially, but money still became the biggest source of tension in our marriage. We couldn’t talk about investments, helping our kids, or even spending without it turning into a fight. With Dr. Verchick’s guidance, we learned how to have calm, respectful conversations about money. For the first time, we feel like partners instead of opponents."

"We never thought intimacy would become such a struggle for us, but it did. It was hard to even bring it up without feeling embarrassed or hurt. Dr. Verchick created a safe space where we could finally talk openly. She helped us reconnect emotionally and physically, and we feel closer now than we did years ago."

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why choose a therapist in Los Angeles when there are therapists in Newport Beach?

Privacy. In a community where your social circle and your therapist's social circle could easily overlap, many couples feel more comfortable working with someone completely outside their world. I have no presence in Orange County. That separation is what makes full honesty possible.

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We're in our 60s and have been married for decades.

Can therapy still help? Absolutely. Long marriages often have the most to work with. The foundation is usually still there — it's just buried under years of routine, unspoken frustration, and the assumption that this is just how it is now. It doesn't have to be.

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We can't talk about money without it turning into a fight. Can you help with that?

Yes. Money fights are rarely about money. They're about control, values, security, and respect. I help you see what's actually driving the conflict so you can have the conversation without it becoming a war.

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What if one of us doesn't think we need therapy?

Start without them. I work with one partner regularly. Once the dynamic at home starts shifting, the reluctant partner usually becomes willing to join.

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How do virtual sessions work?

You both join a secure video call. You can be in the same room or different locations. Most couples find it just as effective as in-person, and the convenience of no commute means you show up more consistently.