Dr Ilse Brandvold
couples therapist
Steady; slows every argument down
Couples
Twelve sessions, then a decision. The series stays inside the therapy room and the house afterwards, showing how couples therapy actually works, what it can repair, and the moment when staying together and separating well both look like success.
Planned · not started yet
Relationships, parenting & family Family duty Hard choices Second chances Family home Tense Reflective
The premise
Twelve sessions, then a decision. The series stays inside the therapy room and the house afterwards, showing how couples therapy actually works, what it can repair, and the moment when staying together and separating well both look like success.
The protagonist
Nell and Marcus Orrin-Adeyemi — Married twelve years, in counselling after Marcus’s emotional affair
The council
Every council member is an original fictional character. None represents, quotes or is endorsed by a real person.
Dr Tomas Ferrer-Quaye
psychosexual therapist
Frank; names what others avoid
Patrick Ojo
family lawyer
Realist; asks what happens if it fails
How the story moves
Twelve sessions across a year, each book a phase of therapy; the outcome stays genuinely uncertain until the final book.
What readers take away
- How the main evidence-based couples-therapy approaches differ
- Conflict cycles and how to interrupt them
- Trust repair after betrayal
- Communication skills that hold under stress
- Intimacy after a rupture
- Recognising when separation is healthier
- Protecting children from couple conflict
- Choosing a qualified therapist
- Use a structured repair conversation after a breach
- Recognise contempt and stonewalling patterns
- Set boundaries during therapy
- Decide what to tell children
The books
- 1Session one Planned
- 2The account Planned
- 3The cycle Planned
- 4The decision Planned
- 5After Planned
Book titles are working titles and may change before publication. No book is on sale until the complete series is finished, checked and released.