You know your patterns. You can name what's not working;
But knowing is not the same as changing.
Ninety minutes with me, virtually, for individuals and couples ready to look at what's actually keeping them stuck.
A Pause Together
Not sure where to start? I can help you decide. Start Here
An unprocessed feeling. An unnamed belief.
An option you haven't considered yet.
Together, we work to see things clearly, tend to what surfaces, and figure out the most aligned next steps.
You leave with a plan after the pause, a personalized guide to move forward.
Why Do This Work Right Now
You can name the pattern. You can articulate exactly what you'd need to do differently. You've read the books, done the therapy, listened to the podcasts. Maybe you know your attachment style and your triggers and precisely what sets you and your partner off into that same old fight. Maybe nothing is that dramatic and you just feel like a stranger inside your own days, or lonely in a room full of people who love you, or worn down in a way a vacation doesn't touch.
The gap between knowing and making changes is the whole reason this session exists. Insight that never converts into new ways of being is hollow. And it’s the kind of stuck high-functioning people are especially good at. You keep pushing, saying the right things, checking the right boxes, while disappearing inside a life, relationship, or career that drains you.
What's missing isn't more information. It's someone who can stay with the details of your life long enough to see what's underneath all that knowledge. It’s guidance rooted in integration, not just more awareness.
That's what a Pause Together session is.
And if, when we finish, you decide it’s time to go deeper, our session fee becomes a credit toward a future Sovereign Self or Devoted Partnership intensive if booked within 60 days.
Details below.
Two Doors.
One Promise.
One conversation that helps you get untangled from the patterns holding you hostage.
Solo Sessions for individuals
Who it's for
You're high-functioning. You're competent. You're tired of being the most insightful person in your social circle, yet somehow still stuck in your own unhelpful patterns.
What we'll do
Start with what's actually going on for you right now, not the I'm fine you hand everyone else. I listen for the thread running through all of it, the one you can't see from where you're standing, and I offer it back to you accurately. Then we work out what you're going to do differently.
What you leave with
One aligned next step, specific to your life and concrete enough to act on. Plus your Plan After the Pause guide, sent via email 5-7 days after.
90 minutes · virtual · $750
Who it's for
You're committed, and you're stuck. Tired of having the same fight in different costumes, avoiding the same conversations, and compromising only to end up in the same unhappy spot.
What we'll do
Start with compassionate but radical honesty. We look at the structure of your particular dynamic, at what's really happening underneath for each of you, and at the small shift that lets you reach each other instead of circling the same old fights and discontent.
What you leave with
One aligned next step for both of you, specific to your relationship rather than a generic playbook. Plus your Plan After the Pause guide, sent via email 5-7 days after.
90 minutes · virtual · $1,500Couple Sessions for you and your partner
The conversation ends. Your progress doesn't.
your Plan After the Pause
A few days after we talk, I send you a plan made for you. Not a template with your name dropped into it.
It holds what we saw together and what it's been costing you, the questions worth sitting with while it settles, the practices chosen for the specific way you get stuck, and the next step you named with enough detail that you can actually take it. If there's a book, a resource, or a next container that fits you, it's in there too.
The session is where you see it. The plan is what you do with it. People come back to theirs months later, which is exactly what it's for.
Click the image to see a sample Plan After The Pause →
How it works
Book & Pay in One Easy Step - Click the button and get immediate access to my calendar. Choose your preferred date before you make a payment. 01
Schedule and Tell Me What's Going On - Your confirmation email will have the scheduling link and a short intake. No lengthy questionnaires and paperwork. Just enough information so that I show up ready to learn more.02
The Session - ninety minutes with me on Zoom. You get my focused, sustained attention on what's actually happening in the moment and real-time feedback on what I see in your patterns.03
Your Plan After the Pause - Within a few days, your personalized plan arrives in your inbox. What we saw, what's worth tending, the questions to sit with- all in writing- so the clarity doesn't drift away without action.04
The 60-Day Window - If a full intensive is the right next step, your session investment applies in full as credit toward any tier of Sovereign Self or Devoted Partnership you book within 60 days.05
Why Do This Work With Me?
For 23 years, I've sat with people in their hardest moments without rushing them toward resolution. Couples on the edge. Individuals in transition. Leaders who can't keep doing it the way they've been doing it. Some of that work was in my psychotherapy practice, which I closed in early 2025. Some of it lives now in intensives, in retreats, in workshops with organizations.
What I do is the same in every room. I find the threads. The disjointed pieces of what someone is carrying, and what they're really asking for underneath. Then I offer it back. Not as advice, not as a fix. As something they can recognize.
The thing people tell me again and again, in different words: they came in expecting to feel exposed, and instead they felt relief. That's the work. Loving clarity. Honest reflection. The room you don't have to perform in.
23 years as a licensed marriage and family therapist. TEDx speaker. Founder of Esther B. Consulting and Compassion Collective. The credentials matter less than what they've taught me, which is how to stay present with what's hard long enough for something real to happen.
What People Are Saying
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"I am still in awe of how masterful Esther was in holding the space for us. I am so used to navigating our relationship alone, but this showed me something different."
— Former Customer
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“Esther is truly phenomenal. Her work is transformative, and her ability to blend compassion with practical insight is unmatched."
— Paul C. Brunson, host of We Need to Talk
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“I kept investing in other things but, you helped me realize that focusing on me is essential to clarifying what I want the next chapter of my life to be.”
— Former Client
Questions People Ask
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Who is this ideal for?
This is for high-functioning individuals and couples who want a real shift without a long runway. People with plenty of insight who are still stuck, and couples tired of circling the same issue. It’s also ideal if you're weighing an intensive, a retreat, or another service and want to feel what working together is actually like.
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We're a couple; can one of us do a solo session first?
Some couples come into the couples session together. Others start with one partner doing the solo session first, then the couple comes together later, or continue with solo work. The best choice depends on your goals and readiness. If you’re still unsure, book a consultation.
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How does this fit with your intensives?
A Pause Together stands on its own as a meaningful, transformative service. And also serves as a great entry point before committing to a Sovereign Self or Devoted Partnership plan. Your investment here carries forward as a credit towards any intensive for 60 days.
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What is the Plan After the Pause?
A personalized guide I write and send a few days after we meet. It reflects what we saw, gives you questions to sit with as it settles, names the practices suited to your situation and patterns, and lays out your next steps, along with any books or resources that fit you. The session is where you see it clearly. The plan is what you do with it afterward.
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Who is not a good fit?
A Pause Together session is not for you if you are experiencing an active crisis. If you or your partner feels unsafe, is having a mental health emergency, or is in an active abuse cycle, please reach out to a crisis resource or a clinician who can offer ongoing care. This is not an appropriate service to manage those situations and your health and safety is the top priority.
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Is this therapy?
No. It's intensive coaching. I'm not diagnosing you, treating a clinical condition, or building an ongoing therapeutic relationship. The clinical foundation shapes how I work, but A Pause Together is a focused conversation about a specific shift you're ready to make. If you need ongoing therapy, I'm happy to point you toward clinicians I trust.
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What happens after the 60-day window?
The session credit expires after 60 days. If you decide to book a full intensive after that window, the standard pricing applies and the path is the same as anyone else: a free consultation, then directly into Sovereign Self or Devoted Partnership.
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What if I need to reschedule or cancel?
Rescheduling is free up to 48 hours before the session. For cancellations 5 or more days before: full refund minus a $50 admin fee. Cancellations up to 1 day before: nonrefundable, but transferable to another date or service. Same day or no-show: no refund, no credit, no transfer.
Ready to Pause?
Book your session today or schedule a call to talk through your questions.