Today we’d like to introduce you to Evon Inyang.
Hi Evon, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
There was a time in my life when everything on the surface looked perfect. I was hitting career milestones, collecting accolades, and achieving everything I thought I was supposed to want. My calendar was packed and my inbox was overflowing. From the outside looking in, I was the picture of success.
Underneath it all, I felt empty.
I told myself I should feel grateful and that I had earned this life. I could not shake the feeling that I was constantly running, proving, and chasing. I wondered what it was all for. Was it another title? Was it another fleeting moment of validation before the hollowness crept back in?
I remember sitting alone in my car after a long day. The engine was off, my phone was buzzing, and the silence pressed in around me. For the first time, I let myself ask the questions I had avoided: Is this it? Is this all I have worked for? Why does it feel so lonely?
The truth is that I had spent years pouring myself into a version of success that never really fit. Closing deals, delivering presentations and winning awards were all about performance. I looked competent, polished and put-together, but deep down I wanted more. I wanted depth. I wanted a connection. I wanted something real.
The realization did not happen overnight. It came slowly and it was messy and uncomfortable. I wrestled with doubt and asked myself if walking away meant failing or if starting over meant wasting everything I had built. In that valley, where the path was unclear and the fear was heavy, I started listening to the quiet voice I had ignored for so long. The voice said, You were made for more than this.
That moment shifted everything.
I walked away from the corporate world. The decision was not easy, because change rarely is, yet it was necessary. I wanted to do something that truly mattered. That is how ForwardUs Counseling, LLC was born.
Now I spend my days sitting with couples, listening to their stories, their pain and their hopes. I have watched them work through the messiness of love. I have seen the misunderstandings, the hurt, and the small moments of closeness they are fighting to hold onto. Helping them find their way back to each other and build something stronger is the most meaningful work I have ever done.
The ability to sit with someone’s story, even for just an hour, is a privilege I do not take lightly. Every day I sit with couples in some of their hardest moments. I hear the stories they rarely share out loud, the hurt, the doubt, the longing and the quiet hopes. This work is sacred and heavy.
I keep showing up. In that single hour, something can shift. A partner can finally feel seen. A wall can come down. Hope can leave the room with them, even if it was not there when they arrived.
I know what it feels like when life pulls you in a hundred directions and the bond that once felt unshakable starts to feel fragile. I know what it is like to be so busy surviving that you forget how to truly see each other.
That is why I created ForwardUs Counseling. I wanted couples to have more than a place to vent or talk. I wanted them to have a space where the noise of survival quiets down long enough for them to actually see each other again. Whether they are stepping into parenthood, rebuilding after conflict, or deciding with clarity that it is time to part ways, this is where they can remember that their relationship is worth giving care and attention to.
At the heart of my work is one belief: connection is not optional; it is the foundation. When couples are supported to repair, rediscover, and rebuild, the impact reaches far beyond their bond. It shapes how children grow, how families function, and how people carry themselves into the world. This work is sacred to me and I would not trade it for anything.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at all—it’s been anything but smooth! When I left the corporate world, I didn’t have a perfect plan. I had a sense that I was meant for something more meaningful, but no guarantee it would work out. Walking away from financial stability, explaining to family and friends why I was leaving a “successful” career and starting over in a completely different field was terrifying.
On top of that, therapy work isn’t just a career shift; it’s an emotional one. I had to learn how to sit with couples in their hardest moments while also making sure I wasn’t carrying their pain home with me. I had to figure out how to grow a business while staying grounded enough to do the work well. Some days it felt like I was juggling a hundred new roles: therapist, entrepreneur, marketer and bookkeeper-all at once.
There was another layer too. I was stepping into a field that is still overwhelmingly white. Nationwide only about 7% of marriage and family therapists are Black, and the numbers in Minnesota are even smaller. Representation matters and I knew entering a space where so few looked like me meant that I would carry both the weight of underrepresentation and the responsibility to widen the path for others.
The struggle is my teacher. It taught and continues to teach me what I now pass on to clients, growth is born in the hard places and it gave me a clearer sense of purpose. They forced me to get clear on my “why” and to trust that creating something real and meaningful was worth the bumps along the way. ForwardUs Counseling exists because of those valleys and that’s why I’m so passionate about helping couples and families face their own.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Forward Counseling ?
What makes ForwardUs Counseling unique is how I blend the science of relationships with the humanity of lived experience. I use tools like the Gottman Method, Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy and advanced perinatal training, but I also bring my story into the room. My West African heritage, my American identity and my Minnesotan roots shape how I understand resilience, community and family. Clients know I will be empathetic, but they also know I will be direct—because couples don’t need sugarcoating. They need tools that actually work.
That’s why I created the Re|Pair Framework ™- a roadmap created specifically for couples facing stress, conflict, shifting roles and changes in intimacy. At ForwardUs Counseling, we use evidence-based methods to help partners move from surviving to repairing, reconnecting, or deciding with clarity if it is time to part ways. What makes my approach unique is that I never assume one outcome for a couple. Some repair, some reconnect, and some part with clarity. My role is to provide a trauma-informed, culturally attuned space where partners have the agency and tools to choose the path that best supports their future.
Couples tell me that ForwardUs Counseling feels different than “just talk therapy.” Here, their relationship becomes the priority. Both partners feel seen and they leave with strategies they can use long after our sessions. At ForwardUs Counseling, couples don’t just learn to communicate better. They rediscover what it feels like to be on the same team again.
While we are best known for our focus on couples, our work also extends to several specialized areas of care:
New Parents: Pregnancy, Post-Partum and Adoption
Sixty-nine percent (69%) of couples experience a decline in relationship satisfaction after having a baby, especially in the first six months. The sleepless nights, shifting roles and invisible load can make even strong relationships feel strained. ForwardUs Counseling was created to change that.
I specialize in helping couples who feel stuck in conflict, disconnected in communication or overwhelmed by the changes that come with pregnancy, postpartum and early parenting. These seasons can be beautiful and brutal all at once and my role is to help partners stay connected through it all.
Using the Re|Pair Framework™ to support couples through the realities of new parenthood; those sleepless nights, the constant stress, unspoken conflicts, shifting roles and the intimacy that suddenly feels so far away. All of those pressures can make partners feel more like co-parents or roommates than a couple. The Re|Pair Framework™ is about helping them move from just surviving the days to actually repairing, reconnecting and feeling close again. My approach is trauma-informed and culturally responsive, and it gives couples both practical tools and a safe space to strengthen their relationship and build a healthier foundation for their family.
At ForwardUs Counseling, we are already building that future through the Re|Pair Framework™ support network which includes digital tools for weekly emotional check-ins and collaborations with doulas, OB-GYNs, pediatricians, midwives, sleep and lactation consultants, nonprofits and advocacy groups so families can feel supported from the very beginning of their parenting journey. We integrate science with cultural insight honoring the truth that relationships are shaped by community, culture and lived experience.
I started my practice to close that gap and to establish relational health as a vital sign in postpartum care. When couples are supported, the entire family system thrives. My vision is simple but radical: just as we do not wait for a heart attack to check blood pressure, couples should not wait for a crisis to care for their connection. Relationship health belongs at the center of mental health and ForwardUs Counseling is here to lead that transformation.
Conflict & Communication for Couples
I don’t just teach couples how to “fight fair” or talk better. My approach to conflict and communication is about transforming the way partners understand each other.
Conflict is not just managed; it becomes a map. Miscommunication isn’t just corrected; it becomes an opening for connection. My approach equips couples with tools they can use in the heat of the moment and skills that last long after therapy ends. I don’t assume every couple’s path will look the same; some repair, some reconnect and some choose new directions. It’s bold, dynamic and innovative, designed for couples who want more than temporary fixes. It’s about shifting patterns, deepening understanding and building resilience so that every argument has the potential to strengthen rather than chip away at the bond between partners.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love our sense of community. There’s something about the way people show up for each other here. Whether it’s neighbors checking in during a snowstorm or the way local businesses and professionals collaborate to support families. Being a proud Minnesotan grounds me in those values of resilience, connection and honesty. It shapes how I show up in my work with people and the world around me every day.
The hardest thing about Minnesota is how easy it can be for people to feel isolated, especially during the long winters. That isolation can spill into relationships and mental health. It’s one of the reasons I do this work, to help couples build the kind of connection that carries them through even the harshest winter seasons.
And if you’ve ever known the heartache of being a Vikings fan, you know Minnesotans already carry more than our share of tough seasons.
Pricing:
- •$249 for 90 minute first session. This lays the foundation by mapping a couple’s history, stress points and goals so every session that follows is clear and effective.
- •$175 for 65 minute couples ongoing sessions
- •$350 for 120 minute first Crossroads Counseling couples session. We hear each partner’s perspective and outline clear options for moving forward towards repair or separation.
- •$260 for 120 minute ongoing Crossroads Counseling sessions
- *I’m currently accepting new clients with immediate availability, including evenings and weekends. Newborns, breastfeeding parents and pets are welcome in session. I want therapy to feel accessible, flexible and supportive of real life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.forwarduscounseling.com/meet-my-couples-therapist
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forwarduscounseling
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forwarduscounseling
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evon-inyang | https://www.linkedin.com/company/forwardus-counseling
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@forwarduscounseling
- Other: *I’ve always said I’m not a content creator. I’m a therapist who creates content to make relationship health and perinatal support more accessible. This isn’t about replacing professional counseling—it’s about translating evidence-based science into everyday tools couples and providers can use. At the end of the day, it’s about accessibility, credibility and building community. I’d love to connect and collaborate.
