COUPLES and MARRIAGE COUNSELING
Are you a newly married couple adjusting to or struggling with the transitions involved with your new status and situation and need some extra support?
Have you been in a relationship or married for a while and the dynamic has changed?
Has your relationship become a struggle in some way?
Have changes in priorities caused conflict and stress in your relationship or marriage?
Are you experiencing miscommunications causing disagreements with your partner/spouse?
Do you often think about a time when you felt more passion in your relationship or marriage and wish you could go back?
Do you feel you were more appreciated, loved, or valued in the earlier years of your relationship or marriage?
If you answered yes or can relate to any of these you’re not alone & I can help!
All couples and/or marriages have issues throughout life that cause ups and downs. Many times we are able to navigate through them and move forward with life. Sometimes, however, we have difficulty with the changes and transitions we face in life and when this happens it also causes difficulty within your relationship. Sometimes couples are able to get through these difficult times and issues and survive or even become stronger for having gone through them, but some couples end up in a worse position full of emotional turmoil for one or both partners that causes high levels of unhappiness that can ultimately end in divorce.
Time and life circumstances will often cause shifts within a marriage or relationship. Priorities may change and/or you may face planned, unexpected or unavoidable challenges in life. Some examples include moving into a new residence, having children, job or career changes, financial changes, status changes, losses, adult children leaving home, etc. As you go through these experiences, keep in mind both you and your spouse or partner are growing and changing as well. This may result in differences in thinking, behaving or feeling, causing differences in reactions to such changes and challenges. Therefore, not only are the changes or challenges causing stress, but the differences in the ways one reacts to them can cause even higher stresses for one or both partners in a relationship.
When this happens, you and your partner can become disconnected, causing changes in your communication and intimacy. This can lead to miscommunications that can lead to disagreements and arguments, causing feelings of anger, frustration, or resentment. You may feel unheard or misunderstood, or may even be feeling unvalued, unloved, or unappreciated. *For more information about intimacy issues, please visit the RELATIONSHIP AND INTIMACY ISSUES PAGE*
When we experience these emotions within a relationship that once made us feel safe and secure, it can result in physical, mental and emotional symptoms including depression, anxiety and related stresses. Sometimes we lose sight of the happiness we once shared and immerse ourselves in outside projects or interests to satisfy our need for happiness instead of with our partner/spouse. These sometimes lead to changes in sexual desire or even infidelity causing issues with communication and trust between partners/spouses. Sometimes it can even feel like you are roommates or friends sharing a space instead of an intimate partner in a loving home.
The good news is; it doesn’t have to stay that way!
Making the decision to engage in therapy/counseling to address the issues that cause
difficulty in your relationship or marriage
is the first step towards improvement
and shows that you care enough to work at making a difference!
Many of the issues that exist between couples are circumstantial or situational, but these can also result in or be brought on by mental, emotional, and behavioral issues.
Experiencing circumstances or situations that cause changes, transitions or adjustments can be difficult for both an individual and a couple. Similarly, both partners can experience, perceive, or be affected by these in very different ways. These can result in you, your partner, or both, suffering from mental, emotional, and behavioral symptoms that may include low self-esteem, feeling stressed, worried, confused, uncertain, nervous, anxious, scared, or depressed to name a few.
Similarly, having existing mental, emotional, and behavioral issues can cause difficulty in your relationship. When one or both partners in a relationship have existing mental, emotional, and behavioral issues, those issues have an impact on their own feelings and emotions, thinking, and behavior. Likewise, those feelings, emotions, thinking, and behavior will have an impact on the relationship.
Regardless of whether your relationship or marital issues derived from life situations, changes or transitions or one or both of you have issues within oneself that are in need of addressing, consider couples/marital counseling through psychotherapy and CBT to help you get back on track and get the help you need.
Psychotherapy and CBT are evidenced based treatments that have been proven to be successful and the most effective forms of treatment for depression, anxiety and related stresses. They are very helpful in addressing and treating all of the symptoms related to those experienced by people dealing with issues within their relationship or marriage.
As I have mentioned on my other pages on this site, I use CBT as the basis for my psychotherapy, along with other methods, approaches, and strategies tailored to you as a unique individual and/or as part of a couple to help you gain all you need from your journey through the therapy process…
I can help couples with restoring intimacy, love, hope, laughter and emotional connection in their relationships.
I can help couples with issues including intimacy/sex, communication, conflict resolution, decision making, problem solving, and various other issues
I can help couples to understand emotions and how they affect one another
I can help couples to navigate through changes, transitions, and struggles within all relationship types
I can help couples to save, define and understand their relationships
I can help couples with all types of issues related to expanding into new types of relationships
I can help Empty Nesters in rekindling their connection
I can also help couples who have decided to end their relationship to do so in a mutually respectable and beneficial way
I can help couples to move past relationships and live in the present one
Don’t let issues in your relationship or marriage continue to cause you stress or pain,
learn how to understand them, work through them
and ultimately move forward in the direction you desire!
Together we can work towards helping you and your relationship or marriage heal!
FAQS About Couples and Marital Counseling/Therapy:
What’s the difference between marriage and couples counseling/therapy?
Counseling typically focuses on a specific issue for a short or specific amount of time.
Therapy can be more long-term and focuses on you as an individual in a deeper sense: how you view yourself and the world, your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, as well as the underlying patterns or causes of why you do the things you do.
Professional and Licensed Therapists are educated and trained in both counseling and therapy, and many provide both as they often times come hand-in-hand. Therefore, the terms counseling and therapy are often used interchangeably by Licensed Therapists because in many cases even when you start off dealing with specific issues, many times they will tend to lead to deeper issues to be addressed on a deeper level.
Marriage Counseling/Therapy and Couples Counseling/Therapy are therefore similar in many ways and are used interchangeably often as well.
Marriage or Couples “Counseling” usually focuses on the present, as well as the day-to-day life issues and challenges a couple (married or not) faces. However, past events can also be addressed as well.
Marriage or Couples “Therapy” also focuses on present issues, but typically unhealthy or strained relationships tend to have past events that contribute to or cause the issues they are facing in the present, making these a focus of treatment as well.
Is it ok to go to Counseling/Therapy if we’re not married?
Absolutely! Pursuing counseling/therapy is a healthy way to work on the issues you face as a couple, whether you are married or not. It helps to restore connection, improve difficulties in the relationship, and identify and address any issues of concern you may have.
Will you as my/our Therapist place blame, take sides, or suggest separation or divorce?
As a professional and licensed therapist I would Never do any of these things. No counselor or therapist should ever do any of these things. As a therapist I help you identify and resolve any issues that are causing difficulty in your relationship in a non-judgmental, non-biased, objective way and to help you make decisions that you feel are the best ones for you once you have gained knowledge, insight, and understanding to help you to do so. In some cases, the answer may be to separate or divorce, but that would be your decision and my job would then be to help you through it. My ultimate goal is to help you achieve your goals, become healthier and thrive.
If you're having issues in your relationship or marriage & you think you're ready to start therapy
& your journey towards unique & personal healing,
call me today for your free phone consultation
(631) 339-1326.
We can chat about whatever is needed
to help decide if
You and A Different View Psychotherapy LCSW PLLC
are the right fit!
