What Fans of HBO's "Couples Therapy" with Orna Guralnik Will Love About Working with Gabriela Arriola

If you've found yourself completely captivated by HBO's Couples Therapy, you're not alone. Millions of viewers have been drawn to the intimate, unflinching documentary series where psychoanalyst Dr. Orna Guralnik guides real couples through the messy, painful, and ultimately transformative work of understanding their relationships.

Reviews call the show "mesmerizing," with viewers describing moments where Orna says something so profound "it just punches you in the gut." The series earned a rare 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes precisely because it avoids reality TV dramatics in favor of something deeper: authentic psychoanalytic treatment that actually helps people change.

If you've watched the show and thought, "I wish I could work with someone like this"—you can. Right here in Ajax, Ontario, and virtually across all of Ontario, psychoanalyst couples therapist Gabriela Arriola offers the same depth of psychoanalytic couples therapy that has made Couples Therapy essential viewing for anyone interested in understanding relationships.

What Makes Psychoanalytic Couples Therapy Different

One of the most consistent comments from Couples Therapy viewers is how different the show feels from their expectations of therapy. There's no checklist of communication tips. Orna doesn't just teach couples to use "I statements" and call it a day.

Instead, psychoanalytic couples therapy—the approach both Orna and Gabriela use—operates on a fundamentally different premise: your current relationship struggles are rooted in patterns that go much deeper than you realize.

As one therapist who analyzed Orna's work noted, "The fights couples have aren't about poor communication. They're about difference. Different worldviews, value systems, loyalties, attachment histories." Trying to resolve those fights through communication technique alone, she explained, is like slapping duct tape on a cracked foundation.

This is where psychoanalytic therapy shines. Both Orna and Gabriela are trained to help couples explore the unconscious factors affecting their current relationships—tracing patterns back to their historical origins, understanding how they've developed over time, and helping couples cope with the realities of their current situation.

Gabriela completed advanced psychoanalytic training at the Toronto Psychoanalytic Institute and additional specialized training in couple therapy at the Ulloa Institute. Like Orna, she brings not just technique but deep theoretical understanding of how unconscious patterns, childhood experiences, and family-of-origin dynamics shape adult relationships.

Gabriela Arriola, MSW, RSW
Registered Social Worker | Psychotherapist | Psychoanalyst
Specializing in Couples Therapy, Psychoanalysis, and Trauma-Informed Care

The Search for Truth: What Viewers Love About Orna's Approach

In an interview about the show's success, Orna explained: "One of the things that therapy really relies on is a certain kind of commitment and search for truth. It doesn't work if you're not really after the truth... going deeper, deeper into the subjective truth between two people, being able to work towards honesty and sometimes brutal honesty, I think it's very refreshing nowadays."

This commitment to truth—even when it's uncomfortable, even when it contradicts what you want to believe about yourself or your relationship—is what makes psychoanalytic therapy transformative.

Gabriela brings this same orientation to her work. With 15+ years of clinical experience working with couples, individuals, and families, she's not interested in surface-level fixes. As her clients describe it, she's "a deep thinker who brings extensive training and life experience to my work, giving me the confidence to walk with them into deep healing."

When you work with Gabriela, you're not signing up for a therapist who will help you feel better by avoiding hard truths. You're signing up for someone who will help you see the patterns you can't see yourself—and that kind of seeing changes everything.

Creating Space Where Truth Can Live

One of the most radical aspects of Orna's work that viewers notice is her ability to create what one clinician called "a space where truth gets to live, even when it's awkward."

This isn't the bubble-wrapped, say-the-right-words kind of safe space. As the clinician explained, "She models what safety really is: respecting the separate reality of the other person. Not agreeing with it. Not fixing it. Not pathologizing it. Respecting it."

Gabriela's approach embodies this same philosophy. Drawing from her training in psychodynamic, psychoanalytic, and Gestalt psychotherapy—alongside Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) and Internal Family Systems—she creates a therapeutic environment where both partners can share their truth without fear of being reduced to a diagnosis or a problem to be fixed.

Her specialties include working with couples navigating divorce, blended families, childhood trauma, anxiety, depression, and family conflict. Like Orna, Gabriela understands that these aren't isolated issues—they're all connected to how we learned to relate to ourselves and others.

The Long View: Transformation Over Quick Fixes

Couples Therapy viewers often comment on how the show subverts their expectations. They come in thinking certain couples "should obviously break up," only to watch those same couples make profound breakthroughs. Conversely, couples who seem fine on the surface reveal deep incompatibilities.

As Orna explained in one interview, she believes only "a very small proportion" of couples should actually break up. "People really do want to do better—they want to transcend, they want to grow, there's this underlying push toward health, connectedness, betterment."

Gabriela shares this belief in people's capacity for change. Her practice is grounded in "empathy, respect, and a deep appreciation for the resilience and strength that people show in the face of life's challenges."

But both Orna and Gabriela know that real transformation takes time. The show follows couples through months of weekly sessions because that's what actually creates change—not one breakthrough conversation, but consistent, committed work over time.

When you work with Gabriela for couples therapy in Ajax, you're not getting a quick fix. You're getting a therapist who understands that lasting change requires understanding the full story—yours, your partner's, and the story you're creating together.

Understanding the System, Not Just the Symptoms

Orna describes herself as a "systemically oriented couples therapist," meaning she doesn't view a couple as two individuals but as a system. This shifts everything.

Instead of asking "What's wrong with you?" or "What's wrong with your partner?", the question becomes: "What's happening in the space between you? What patterns has this relationship system developed? What purpose do these patterns serve?"

This is exactly how Gabriela approaches couples work. Whether she's working with couples navigating infidelity, power imbalances, sexual disconnection, or the decision to stay together or separate, she's looking at the relationship as its own entity with its own logic and history.

Her training in systems-based approaches like EFT—combined with her psychoanalytic foundation—allows her to help couples see how their individual attachment histories and unconscious patterns create predictable cycles in their relationship. Once you can see the cycle, you can interrupt it.

The Depth That Changes Lives

Perhaps the most striking thing about Couples Therapy is watching people change in real time. Not through dramatic interventions or forced breakthroughs, but through the slow, steady work of being truly seen and understood.

As one viewer noted, "Sometimes she says very little and just lets them talk, but then she can say something so profound it just punches you in the gut."

This is the hallmark of deep psychoanalytic work. It's not about the therapist having all the answers. It's about creating the conditions where couples can discover their own truth.

Gabriela brings this same quality to her work. Fluent in both English and Spanish, she's supported clients from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and life experiences through some of life's most challenging transitions. Her approach integrates attachment theory, psychodynamic and trauma-informed techniques, and strengths-based, solution-focused work.

But beyond all the technical training, what Gabriela offers is what Orna offers: the capacity to sit with complexity, to hold space for pain without rushing to fix it, and to believe in people's ability to grow even when they can't see it themselves.

Real Therapy, Real Change

The creators of Couples Therapy were adamant that the show present real therapy, not a dramatized version. Producer Josh Kriegman explained that they chose Orna not just for her brilliance and expertise, but because "she also isn't that interested in being on TV. I think that underlines the authenticity. It's a therapy-first endeavor."

Gabriela embodies this same commitment. She's not interested in being a guru or offering simple solutions. She's interested in doing the real, difficult, transformative work of helping people understand themselves and their relationships at a deeper level.

Whether you're dealing with ongoing conflict, feeling disconnected from your partner, struggling with anxiety or depression that's affecting your relationship, navigating family therapy needs, or questioning whether your relationship can survive—Gabriela offers the depth and expertise that creates lasting change.

Finding Your Own Orna in Ajax, Ontario

If Couples Therapy has shown you what's possible when you work with a psychoanalytically-trained therapist who truly understands the complexity of human relationships, you don't have to fly to New York to find that kind of care.

Gabriela Arriola offers in-person psychoanalytic couples therapy in Ajax and virtual therapy across Ontario. She works with couples, individuals, children, teens, and families—bringing the same depth of training and commitment to truth that has made Couples Therapy transformative for millions of viewers.

Like Orna, Gabriela believes in people's capacity to grow. Like Orna, she creates space where difficult truths can be spoken and heard. And like Orna, she understands that real change doesn't come from quick fixes—it comes from the slow, steady work of understanding who you are, where you came from, and how to show up differently in your relationships.

Ready to Experience Psychoanalytic Couples Therapy?

If you've been moved by watching Couples Therapy and recognize that you want this kind of depth in your own therapeutic work, Gabriela Arriola is accepting new couples at The Relationship Agency.

Book a free consultation to discuss whether psychoanalytic couples therapy is right for you.

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Gabriela Arriola, MSW, RSW
Registered Social Worker | Psychotherapist | Psychoanalyst
Specializing in Couples Therapy, Psychoanalysis, and Trauma-Informed Care