Relationship & life coach
maya
ellis
.
grow at the speed of trust.
You love each other. You keep missing each other. The same argument keeps arriving in new clothes.
Together we slow the moment down, listen for what’s underneath, and learn new ways of reaching for each other. One on one, as a couple, or in a small circle.
Who this is for
For couples, parents and people between chapters who keep having the same conversation and are ready for a new one.
Online & in Portland
For the moments that usually go sideways.
I’m Maya, a certified relationship coach. For twelve years I’ve helped people slow down the moments that run away from them: the sharp reply, the long silence, the decision nobody wants to name. We work with your real week, not a workbook.
You might be…
Newly together, or newly apart
Carrying a big decision alone
Tired of keeping the peace
The approach
Three small moves, made often.
No scripts and no homework binders. We take what actually happened this week and work through it in three movements, again and again, until you can do it without me.
01
Map the loop.
We take one recent moment, the text sent too fast or the dinner that went quiet, and walk through it slowly. Patterns show up once you stop rushing past them.
“Oh. I always go quiet right before I get sharp.”
02
Find the real ask.
Under most fights sits a simple request nobody has made yet. We look for yours, and for the one waiting on the other side of the table.
“I don’t need you to fix it. I need you to sit down.”
03
Try it this week.
Each session ends with one small, specific experiment. You bring back what happened, tidy or messy, and we tune it. That’s where change actually sticks.
“We tried the ten-minute rule on Sunday. It worked twice.”
Ways to work together
Choose the door that fits who’s coming.
Whichever you choose, the work is the same: honest, practical and unhurried. Not sure which fits? The free intro call is a good place to decide.
Meet Maya
I spent twelve years learning where conversations break.
I’ve sat with couples, families and teams at the moment they stop hearing each other. I started this practice to meet people earlier, while the conversation can still go somewhere new.
Maya Ellis
Certified relationship coach, Portland
In their words
Couples coaching
We came in arguing about whose turn it was to call the plumber. We left understanding why that question made us both feel so alone. Maya never took a side, and somehow we both felt completely on ours.
Dana & Theo
One-on-one sessions
I’d rehearsed a conversation with my father for eleven years. Three sessions later I actually had it, over pancakes, and it went better than any version in my head.
Priya N.
Tuesday circle
The circle was the first room where I said something true and nobody rushed to fix it. I still use the pause Maya taught us in work meetings.
Marcus L.
One-on-one sessions
She’s warm, and she isn’t soft. Every time I tried to talk around something, she noticed. Kindly, but every time.
Ellen R.
Couples coaching
We didn’t need saving. We needed better tools for the hard weeks. Six months later, the hard weeks are shorter and further apart.
Sam & Jordan
One-on-one sessions
I came for help with a career decision and ended up repairing a friendship I thought was over. Both turned out fine.
Ana G.
Rates
Pay for the session, not a program.
No twelve-week bundles and no upfront commitment. Book one session at a time and stop once it’s working. A few sliding-scale spots open each season.
Questions
Things people ask before the first call.
Something else on your mind? Write to me and I’ll answer within two working days.
Is coaching the same as therapy?
Do we both need to come to couples sessions?
Online or in person?
How many sessions will I need?
What happens on the free intro call?
What if I need to cancel?
Whenever you’re ready
A free, unhurried video call to see whether we’re a good fit. Nothing to prepare, and no pitch at the end.