I’m Shira Hearn. Couples are my whole practice.
I’m a licensed marriage and family therapist in Webb City, near Joplin. I work exclusively with couples, helping you understand the pattern that keeps pulling you apart and practice a different response in the moments that matter. I’m active in the room, paying attention to both of you.
Schedule an appointmentIn person in Webb City, near Joplin.
The subject changes. The pattern feels familiar.
- “Are you even listening?”
- “Nothing I do is good enough.”
- Push harder. Pull further away.
One person reaches more urgently; the other tries to protect themselves by retreating. You both end up hurting. I help you notice where your own pattern turns, understand what each of you is feeling, and practice reaching each other differently. See how couples therapy works →
Focused on the two of you.
I bring thousands of clinical hours and practice high-fidelity Emotionally Focused Therapy, following its model closely. Both partners are part of the appointment. I listen for what each of you is experiencing and pay attention to the pattern that forms between you.
Both of you deserve to be heard, and both of you deserve honesty. That means taking harm seriously, looking at accountability when trust has been broken, and helping you see what needs to change. Read about Emotionally Focused Therapy →
I don’t watch the fight from the sidelines.
I talk more than some people expect a therapist to. I ask questions, make connections, and help you slow down enough to hear each other.
I get involved.
Couples therapy with me is active. I pay close attention to what happens in the room. I may stop you when the familiar argument takes over, point out when one of you has gone quiet, or help you put what hurts into words your partner can hear.
We work with the moment.
Sometimes I interrupt—because you’ve had this fight at home for free, and repeating it for another hour is not the plan. We slow down the part that keeps getting missed and practice a different response together.
Bring the messy version.
The affair, the months without sex, the thought of leaving, the argument that began with one sentence. I’m not going to be shocked. We can look at what happened, what each of you is carrying, and what needs to change.
Fewer fights are a beginning.
I’m ambitious about what I want for couples. Less fighting matters, but it is not the finish line. I want you to recognize the familiar fight before it takes over, find your way back to each other when it does, and repair the hurts that have made closeness harder.
I want talking to feel easier. I want affection to feel like affection again. I want the two of you to feel interested in each other, engaged in your life together, and able to lean on one another. A relationship can be more than getting through the week without another blowup.
In person near Joplin and Webb City.
I took the scenic route to couples therapy.
I grew up in Jerusalem and started my career in high-tech telecommunications—a field with a great many meetings and very little crying.
After I moved to the United States, my husband, Jimmie, asked what I actually wanted to do with my life. I said “therapist,” then explained why that was ridiculous. The next morning he handed me the login for an online program. I’m glad I lost that argument.
Education & licensure
MS, Marriage and Family Therapy
Fuller Theological Seminary
Missouri LMFT #2022045023
Continuing training
Advanced sex-therapy training through the University of Michigan
In progress
Life, family & faith
At home, I’m married to Jimmie and raising triplets. I sing to them every night. I love summer, swimming, music, and Middle Eastern food that tastes like home.
My Christian faith matters to me. I don’t assume it is part of your story or make it part of our work unless you want that. I believe couples deserve honest help, room to face what is true, and meaningful choices about what comes next. I don’t believe every relationship should be saved at any cost.
Let’s change the ending to your love story.
Choose an appointment time, or call or text me. I answer my own phone—which some people find reassuring and others find slightly alarming.