Founder, The Relationship Place (San Diego Couples Therapy)
Certified Gottman Therapist
Licenses:
California LMFT #99008 | Texas LMFT #205614
Dr. Dana McNeil is a licensed marriage and family therapist and the founder of The Relationship Place, a San Diego couples therapy practice specializing in high-acuity relationships, emotional disconnection, conflict repair, and intimacy concerns. She has achieved the highest level of training in the Gottman Method Couples Therapy and is known for her compassionate, direct, and practical approach to helping couples rebuild trust, communication, and closeness.
She is also the founder of Therapy Getaway, a structured couples intensive model designed for couples seeking deep, focused relationship repair. Dana has specialized expertise in midlife marriage challenges, empty nest transitions, and gray divorce, and provides training and professional education for therapists, including work connected to the Gottman Institute.
Her expertise has been featured in national publications including Oprah Daily, Martha Stewart Living, Men’s Health, Bustle, and SELF Magazine.
She is passionate about helping couples move from feeling like roommates to rebuilding emotional and physical connection.
Certified Gottman Therapist
Licenses:
California LMFT #99008 | Texas LMFT #205614
Dr. Dana McNeil is a licensed marriage and family therapist and the founder of The Relationship Place, a San Diego couples therapy practice specializing in high-acuity relationships, emotional disconnection, conflict repair, and intimacy concerns. She has achieved the highest level of training in the Gottman Method Couples Therapy and is known for her compassionate, direct, and practical approach to helping couples rebuild trust, communication, and closeness.
She is also the founder of Therapy Getaway, a structured couples intensive model designed for couples seeking deep, focused relationship repair. Dana has specialized expertise in midlife marriage challenges, empty nest transitions, and gray divorce, and provides training and professional education for therapists, including work connected to the Gottman Institute.
Her expertise has been featured in national publications including Oprah Daily, Martha Stewart Living, Men’s Health, Bustle, and SELF Magazine.
She is passionate about helping couples move from feeling like roommates to rebuilding emotional and physical connection.
Latest posts by Dr. Dana McNeil (see all)
- Becoming a Mom Again in Your 40s: What Feels Different (and Why That Can Be a Good Thing) - May 17, 2026
- Family Therapy with Adult Children: Breaking Intergenerational Patterns That Have Been Building for Years - April 20, 2026
- Thinking About a Couples Therapy Intensive? Not All Are Created Equal! - March 25, 2026
Congratulations! You’re in a long term, committed, happy relationship. What’s your secret?
People tend to think that the longer the relationship, the easier it gets. You finish each others’ sentences, you know your partner better than you know yourself, your communication is flawless, you have it down!
Not quite…
With time comes routine, predictability, boredom. The most common question I get from clients in long-term relationships summarizes it perfectly “Between kids, housework, chores and work, how do I keep the flame alive?”
Indeed… What about the spice?
I answered this exact question in my interview with QSalt Lake Magazine, read the full article on a fine romance, here.