About the authors
Written from the inside out.
Lower Your Umbrella was born from years of sitting with couples in crisis — and witnessing the moment they finally let each other in.
Joel Cycenas
Spiritual Care Professional
Joel Cycenas has spent over a decade working with couples navigating disconnection, conflict, and the quiet distance that grows when vulnerability feels too risky. His work is grounded in attachment theory, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and a deep belief that most relationship struggles are really about one thing: the fear of being truly seen.
Joel's approach is direct but warm — he doesn't believe in dancing around the hard stuff. He wrote Lower Your Umbrella because he kept seeing the same pattern: couples who loved each other deeply but had learned to protect themselves so well that they'd accidentally shut each other out.
Joel works with individuals and couples in private practice and consults with therapists who want to bring more depth and structure to their couples work. He lives in the Midwest with his wife and two kids, and yes — he practices what he preaches.
Dr. Shanna Morgan
Medical Professional
Dr. Shanna Morgan brings a research-grounded lens to the emotional work at the heart of Lower Your Umbrella. Her background in relational psychology and couples therapy informs every framework in the book — translating complex attachment science into language couples can actually use.
Shanna's work sits at the intersection of clinical practice and evidence-based research. She has spent years studying what actually helps couples rebuild trust and closeness after disconnection — and what gets in the way.
She brings both rigor and compassion to the page. Her chapters are the ones therapists tend to assign first.
Background & training
- Spiritual Care Professional — Joel Cycenas
- Certified in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Medical Professional — Dr. Shanna Morgan
- 10+ years combined private practice with couples
- Consultants for therapists specializing in couples work
- Speakers on vulnerability, attachment, and relational health
Why this book?
Most couples don't fail because they stopped loving each other. They fail because they stopped letting each other in. This book is about learning how to do that again.
Ready to open up?
Lower Your Umbrella is available now as a digital download — for couples ready to do the work, and for therapists looking for a resource to recommend.