Jon Ayers, MA, LCMHC Certified EFCT Therapist | International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT)
Why This Work
I’ve been sitting with people in some of their most vulnerable moments since 2013 — and I’m still moved by the courage it takes to walk into a therapist’s office.
After more than a decade of clinical work in Vermont, I’ve come to believe that most relationship pain isn’t a sign that something is broken beyond repair. It’s a signal that something deeply important is at stake — and that the bond between two people is crying out for attention.
In the therapy room, I’m warm, direct, and present. I take the work seriously, but I don’t take myself too seriously. I believe healing happens in relationship — and that includes the relationship between a client and their therapist.
Couples Work
My couples work is the heart of my practice. Most couples who reach out aren’t on the verge of giving up — they’re exhausted. They’ve had the same argument a hundred times. One partner pushes harder trying to get through; the other pulls back trying to keep the peace. The details change. The dance stays the same.
What looks like a fight about money, parenting, or emotional distance is almost always something deeper. Beneath the conflict is a more urgent, often unspoken question: Are you there for me? Do I matter to you? EFT gives us a map for finding those questions together — and answering them in new ways.
“Jon facilitates a great space for investing in the health of your marriage. He uses a model that breaks down the emotional labor and weight that can so easily overwhelm many of us. I highly recommend!” — Camille
“I found that the system Jon is teaching offers very practical application. I appreciated both his expertise and that it was a powerfully proven and vetted system.” — Phil
Learn more about couples counseling
Individual Work
I also see individual adults at a range of life stages — people navigating anxiety, depression, life transitions and relational patterns that keep repeating. Many individual clients come specifically to understand their own end of a relational cycle: the ways they pursue or withdraw, the fears driving their reactions, and what it might look like to show up differently. Individual work and couples work can be a powerful combination — and sometimes the former is the right place to start.
For Professionals
High performance and inner struggle are not mutually exclusive. Many of the professionals I work with are doing well by every external measure — productive, capable, respected — and quietly carrying something that never quite gets addressed because there’s always something more urgent on the calendar.
I work with professionals, executives, clinicians, educators, and others who are used to solving problems and are ready to apply that same seriousness to their inner life and relationships. The work tends to be focused and honest. You’ll know where we’re going and why.
For College Students
College looks like opportunity from the outside. From the inside, it can feel like everyone else got a manual you didn’t. Academic pressure, shifting friendships, questions about the future, the first real taste of being on your own — it accumulates fast, and most of it goes unspoken because everyone around you seems to be handling it fine.
I work with college students navigating anxiety, perfectionism, relationship struggles, and the particular disorientation that comes with being in a high-demand environment while still figuring out who you are. You don’t need to be in crisis to come in. You just need to be honest that something isn’t quite right — and curious enough to explore it.
For Men
Many of the individual clients I see are men — and many of them arrive having never spoken to anyone about what they’re actually carrying. The questions men tend to bring — Do I have what it takes? Am I enough? Why do I keep shutting down, or blowing up, or disappearing? — are exactly the questions that attachment-informed work is built to address.
You don’t have to have the vocabulary. You don’t have to know what you’re feeling before you walk in. That’s what we’re here to figure out together.
Faith & Spirituality
I’m a person of faith. That has informed some of why I got into helping people. I work comfortably with clients for whom faith is central, complicated, somewhere in between, or entirely absent. Spirituality is one lens I can engage fluently when it’s relevant — not a framework I impose. Whatever your background, you’re welcome here.
Credentials & Training
I hold the designation of Certified EFCT Therapist through the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT) — a rigorous credential held by a small percentage of therapists worldwide, requiring supervised clinical practice, case review, and demonstrated mastery of the EFT model. Couples therapy is not a sideline for me. It is the heart of my practice.
- MA, Clinical Mental Health Counseling (2013)
- Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC), Vermont
- Certified EFCT Therapist — ICEEFT
- EFT Externship & Core Skills Training
- Ongoing supervision with an ICEEFT Certified EFT Supervisor
- Member, ICEEFT | Member, EFTMA
- Hold Me Tight® Workshop Facilitator
- Founder, Flourish Counseling (2018)
Hold Me Tight® Workshops & Couples Intensives
In addition to ongoing couples therapy, I facilitate Hold Me Tight® workshops — a structured enrichment program developed by Dr. Sue Johnson directly from the EFT model, designed for couples who want to strengthen their bond proactively, not just repair it in crisis.
“In a very short time frame, we were able to cover so much ground, have time to process, and make tangible steps toward stronger intimacy.” — Workshop Participant
I also offer couples intensives — extended, focused sessions for couples navigating a relational crisis, preparing for marriage, or ready to invest in their relationship in a dedicated, unhurried way.
Ready to Connect?
I offer a free 20-minute consultation for anyone considering therapy — individuals or couples. It’s a low-pressure conversation to ask questions, get a feel for how I work, and decide whether it’s the right fit.
Currently accepting new clients.
