Couples often seek the help of a therapist when one or both partners recognize problems in the relationship such as different goals, struggles with intimacy, or communication difficulties. In therapy you can identify the strengths and weaknesses in how you relate to each other and better understand the roles you and your partner play in creating problems in the relationship. This will help you discover ways to keep individual problems from interfering with your life together.
Many couples engage in treatment following the devastating discovery of infidelity. By working in therapy, couples can begin to heal from the trauma of betrayal and begin the process of restoring safety and security in the relationship.
My approach to couples therapy is grounded and informed by Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), a proven evidence-based model of therapy with exceptionally high rates of effectiveness. Using the techniques of EFT we work compassionately and collaboratively with couples to identify the underlying, destructive, negative cycle of communication and the behaviors that hamper growth and problem resolution in the coupleship. By highlighting these cycles, couples are better able to find more constructive, nurturing ways to communicate their needs and desires and work through the challenges they encounter.
My practice in working with couples is also informed by extensive training in the Gottman Method of Couples Therapy. This method also helps couples break through barriers to achieve greater understanding, connection, and intimacy in their relationships. Through research-based interventions and exercises, it is a structured, goal-oriented, scientifically based therapy. This method, coupled with EFT, guides my work in strengthening the coupleship in the partners we work with.
Therapy should be a safe place to explore new ways of being. In creating a safe and supportive environment I encourage couples to experiment with each other and take risks. Couples therapy can help you both develop and maintain a passionate, trusting, and loving relationship. Often the process may lead you to acknowledge individual challenges from childhood or from past relationships. If these echoes from the past are creating problems in the present, a course of individual therapy may be recommended.
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