COUPLES…

Couples counseling focuses on the conflict that exists within the relationship, as well as each person’s individual perceptions, reactions and challenges.  As an experienced couple’s therapist, I will assist you in identifying and exploring the problem areas in your relationship while we also determine the goals for relationship recovery.  I will look at patterns of interactions between you and your partner/spouse, as well as other internal and external experiences that impact your relationship.  The dynamics in your relationship are likely to be present in your sessions, just as they are outside of therapy.  When these patterns occur, I will encourage you to explore them.  I will support you in adopting more helpful ways of interacting and communicating to improve intimacy, respect and understanding.

• Recognize repeated patterns of conflict.
• Communicate more effectively to each other.
• Negotiate differences and alternative ways to interact
  within the relationship.
• Avoid competing with each other.
• Identify common life goals and respect individuality.
• Share responsibilities within the relationship.
• Fight fair.
• Appropriately express, disclose and resolve painful emotions.
• State your needs clearly and openly within your relationship.
• Work through unresolved issues.

Couples therapy provides a safe and supportive environment for you to identify and communicate the issues.  It allows expression of feelings and behaviors that are bothering you and to facilitate understanding and positive change.  It can help you rebuild your relationship, or decide that staying together is no longer the right path for your lives.  Either way, through psycho-education, individual therapy, sessions with the couple, mediation and solution focused therapy, counseling can help you understand your relationship better and lead to well-thought-out decisions.