Marriage Counseling

Is Your Marriage in Trouble?

Lack of connection with your partner can feel lonely, painful and defeating. Connection and acceptance from your partner is so important and all people need it. Feeling disconnected can result from increased conflict, criticisms and defensiveness. This can result in increased withdrawal and intervention is needed. Thankfully, there are a variety of methods to enhance and improve connection within a relationship.

Therapy Can Help You Get Your Marriage Back On Track

Let’s talk about what to actually expect from couples therapy. Expect a therapist who demonstrates understanding with both partners and seeks to uncover each individual’s unique truth and perspective, helping truths emerge in a way that each partner understands. You can expect a therapist who helps each partner feel comfortable and work to understand perceptions. Couples therapy is an opportunity to grow and evolve with a non-biased third party to facilitate discussions. It is an emotionally safe space to explore interactional sequences to determine what plays a role in negative and positive outcomes. It is a platform to practice a variety of skills related to enhancing friendship, respect, communication, conflict management and generating solutions for barriers to having a healthier relationship. In couple’s therapy, unproductive behavioral cycles are disrupted and people learn how to listen and speak in ways that lead to productive and positive outcomes. The most important thing is that there are two people who are motivated and willing to repair the relationship. Both people must look inwards and reflect on how their behavior plays a role in relationship challenges. Ultimately the key ingredient in successful couples therapy is love.

I use the Gottman Method for couples therapy, which is the most research-based approach to working with and understanding couples and the science of relationships. The Gottman Method aims to improve verbal communication, increase intimacy, increase respect, increase affection, remove barriers to conflict resolution and create more empathy and compassion within relationships. This method can work for all types of couples regardless of gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, or cultural backgrounds. What couples will need to know is that progress can take time, patience, and a willingness to look within and assume partial responsibility for challenges that arise. I ask that all of my couples in addition to using my prescribed interventions, also use the valuable information that is learned in session and to apply it to the relationship when not in session.