Services & Specialties
Whether you're working through relationship challenges or processing grief, I bring both specialized training and genuine care to every session. I work with individuals, couples, teens, and older adults—in person or online.
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy
Do you long for the days when you and your partner seemed happy, when not every conversation left you feeling angry, sad, or misunderstood? I am a certified EFT couples therapist, and EFT gives us a clear, well-researched roadmap for breaking the cycle of the same old fight and rebuilding real connection. Even after an affair, relationships can heal and come out stronger for having worked through it.
- Certified EFT therapist with a structured, research-backed roadmap
- Focus on emotional connection and attachment
- Build deeper trust, intimacy, and emotional connection
- Improve communication patterns and conflict resolution skills
Support for Young Mothers
Becoming a mom changes everything, and loving your child doesn't make the exhaustion, the worry, or the loss of your old self any less real. I offer support for women navigating early motherhood and the stress of becoming a mom: a place to say the hard parts out loud without judgment and to feel like yourself again.
- Support through pregnancy, postpartum, and early motherhood
- Room for the exhaustion, the worry, and the loss of your old self
- Reconnect with who you are beyond being "mom"
- From a therapist who knows the ups and downs of pregnancy and parenting firsthand
Grief & Loss
Losing a loved one can be the most difficult time in your life, and grief takes far longer than most people around you realize. You never get over the loss of someone you love deeply, but you can learn to live with it, and you can feel good again. The way through grief is through it, not around it, and you don't have to walk through it alone.
- Process complex grief, loss, and life changes
- Navigate grief while maintaining responsibilities
- Honor your experiences without suppressing emotion
- Extensive grief training, including workshop study with grief expert Therese Rando
About Janine
Janine Murphy-Neilson
Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC
What I enjoyed most about my first career in theatre is what I love about counseling: trying to understand what motivates people and how they connect with each other. After earning my BFA in theatre from Boston University, I came back to Northern Virginia, home since 1974, where I worked in local theatre and spent several years teaching in local preschools. That curiosity about people led me to Marymount University, where I earned my MA in Counseling in 1996.
Before graduating I interned at The Women's Center in Vienna, where I began working with individuals, couples, and groups, and instantly found myself energized by helping couples improve their relationships. After graduation I continued with The Women's Center through a grant-based program in Alexandria, providing counseling to parents and children in high-stress environments. In 2003 I opened my private practice, and helping couples improve their relationships has energized me ever since. I've continued to deepen that specialty through post-masters study at Virginia Tech's Marriage and Family Therapy program and, most recently, the education and training to become a certified EFT couples therapist.
Today the heart of my practice is Emotionally Focused Therapy. I am a certified EFT couples therapist, one of a small group of therapists in the area who have gone through the certification process, which means that when your relationship is struggling you're working with someone who has real training in a well-researched approach, not just good intentions. EFT gives us a roadmap: a way to understand the patterns you're stuck in and to rebuild connection without causing more damage.
Grief work is personal for me. After losing my mother to cancer in 2002, I read every book about grief I could get my hands on and made it the focus of my continuing education, including a multiple-day workshop with renowned grief expert Therese Rando. It has been my privilege to sit with people through the most painful time of their lives and watch them begin to heal. More recently, I've been drawn to supporting women in early motherhood, because becoming a mom is wonderful and it is also genuinely hard, and you shouldn't have to pretend otherwise.
Having been involved in theatre, I've always known and loved people from the LGBT community, and working with LGBT individuals and couples remains a focus of my practice. Outside the office, I love to travel (especially if there's a beach involved), watch movies, and take photographs, some of which decorate my office. The highlight of my life is my family: my husband and our two children.
Credentials
- Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Commonwealth of Virginia, License #0701003483
- MA in Counseling, Marymount University (1996)
- Certified EFT Couples Therapist, International Centre for Excellence in EFT (2018)
- Level 2 Gottman Method Couples Therapy Training
Ready to strengthen your relationship?
If you're feeling stuck in the same patterns and want real change, I'm here to help. With specialized training in Emotionally Focused Therapy, I work with couples to rebuild connection and understanding.
Let's talk about what you're going through
Whether you're navigating relationship challenges, grief, or the stress of early motherhood, I offer both in-person and online sessions in Herndon, VA. Individual sessions are $180 (45 minutes); couples sessions are $225 (60 minutes). Not sure where to start? I offer a free 15-minute consultation.