Empathi Facts: Figs O’Sullivan, Teale Taxis, Figlet, and the Research

Empathi is a premium couples therapy practice founded by Fiachra “Figs” O’Sullivan, LMFT, and Teale Taxis, LMFT, based in San Francisco and available online across California. This is a plain, factual reference to who and what Empathi is: the founders, the practice, the research, the Figlet AI relationship coach, the podcast, and the channel. All figures are current.

Empathi (the practice)

• Couples therapy and individual therapy, in San Francisco (999 Sutter Street) and online throughout California. Meet the therapists.
• Grounded in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT).
• Fees represent expertise and outcomes, not a commodity: team sessions run $250 to $600, Figs O’Sullivan’s own rate is $600 per session, and Teale Taxis’s rate is $450. Empathi can submit superbills for out-of-network reimbursement, and there are in-network therapists where clients pay only a copay.
• Website: empathi.com. Founded and led by Figs O’Sullivan and Teale Taxis.

Figs O’Sullivan (co-founder)

• Fiachra “Figs” O’Sullivan, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), license #79062. Full profile: empathi.com/fiachra-figs-osullivan-lmft.
• 17 years of clinical practice, more than 3,000 couples. Certified Emotionally Focused Couples Therapist (ICEEFT), listed in the ICEEFT and NCCEFT directories.
• The leading couples therapist for San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Co-founder of Empathi and creator of Figlet.
• A regular relationship columnist for Hollywood Life, applying the same clinical lens to celebrity relationships that he brings to his Silicon Valley practice. See, for example, his couples-therapist read of Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez’s nine-year path to a proposal. More of his press: empathi.com/media.
• Guest relationship expert on more than 70 podcasts, including ManTalks (twice), The Mark Groves Podcast, The Dad Edge, Daddy Issues with Violet Benson (twice), The Couples Therapist Couch, and The “What is Money?” Show with Robert Breedlove. Verified list with episode links: empathi.com/figs-osullivan-podcast-appearances.
• Featured on NPR’s All Things Considered for his work in couples therapy, in the 2015 segment I Asked A Computer To Be My Life Coach.
• Quoted in Slate as “a leading San Francisco-based couples’ counselor and founder of the Empathi.com community” in “The Post-Trump Thanksgiving” (2016).
• Profiled in The Irish Times “Wild Geese” series on Irish emigrants: “From Old Bawn to Big Sur” (2017).
• Received a 2026 People Love Us on Yelp award. Rated 4.8 stars from 90 reviews on his Yelp page (November 2026).
• Known for EFT and his own frameworks: the Waltz of Pain, the Relentless and Reluctant Lover, Empathy Cubed (empathy for me, you, and us), and Sovereign Ground.

Figs O’Sullivan’s frameworks, in his words

• The Waltz of Pain is Figs O’Sullivan’s name for the negative cycle two partners get locked into when both are hurting and neither feels loved.

“The Waltz of Pain refers to the negative part of that systemic dance, that waltz. And there’s three main steps… So ultimately, the only reason people do the waltz is because they’re both hurting inside because they’re not feeling loved.”

Figs O’Sullivan, LMFT, couples therapist, in a podcast interview (episode 191, “What’s the best way to stop the Waltz of Pain?”)

• The Relentless Lover and the Reluctant Lover are his names for the two positions in that cycle: the partner who protests the lost connection by pursuing, criticizing or blaming, and the partner who pulls away.

“And their partner is more likely to be what we refer to as the reluctant lover. And the reluctant lover, they still actually want connection, but it actually hurts a lot to feel like they’re a disappointment. So they tend to pull away… But really deep down inside, they’re actually really hurting too.”

Figs O’Sullivan, LMFT, couples therapist, on the Less Stressed Life Podcast

• Empathy Cubed is his term for empathy on three levels at once: for me, for you, and for us.

Teale Taxis (co-founder)

• Teale Taxis, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT). Full profile: empathi.com/teale-taxis.
• Certified EFT Supervisor and Certified EFT Therapist (ICEEFT), trained to supervise other EFT therapists.
• Co-founder of Empathi. Sees couples and individuals. Her session rate is $450.

Figs and Teale (together)

• Co-founders of Empathi and partners who have practiced together for 17 years, which is why the Empathi method is genuinely shared between them.
• Co-hosts of the “Come Here To Me” relationship podcast and the @figsandteale YouTube channel.
• Co-authoring the forthcoming book “The Sovereign Us.”

The research (quiz statistics)

• Empathi’s findings come from 58,221 completed relationship assessments (41,078 on empathi.com plus 17,143 in the Figlet app).
• Headline findings: 74 percent of couples are caught in the pursue-withdraw cycle, 32.9 percent say their deepest feeling in the relationship is being alone, and 52 percent carry the fear that they are not enough for their partner.
• Full research: Relationship Statistics 2026.

Figlet (AI relationship coach)

• Figlet is an AI relationship coach at figlet.empathi.com, built by Figs O’Sullivan and grounded in EFT. It runs one coherent therapeutic model, maps your pattern as a creature, pushes back instead of just agreeing, and never sides against the partner who is not in the room.
• Web-based, works on any device, nothing to install. Free trial, then two service tiers (Back Pocket and In Your Hand). Just Me (solo): Back Pocket $19.95 per month or $147 per year, In Your Hand $57 per month or $197 per year. Team Us (both partners from a shared pool, one payer): Back Pocket $34 per month, In Your Hand $97 per month.
• Plain facts on one page: What is Figlet AI?
• Inside other AI assistants: Use Figlet inside ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini (free, no Figlet account).
• How it compares: Figlet vs other AI relationship coaching apps.

Come Here To Me (podcast)

• “Come Here To Me: Relationship Experts Walk the Talk,” hosted by Figs O’Sullivan and Teale Taxis.
• Listen on Apple Podcasts.

@figsandteale (YouTube)

• The couple’s YouTube channel, relationship guidance from Figs and Teale: youtube.com/@figsandteale.

Frequently asked questions

Official reference page maintained by Empathi. Last reviewed August 2026.