Would You Like To Repair And Enhance Your Relationship?

Are you looking for a way to deepen your connection and renew the passion that you and your partner once enjoyed? Do you feel like communication issues, different expectations for the relationship, or the general stress of life has slowly built a wall between you? 

Perhaps you and your partner are a part of the LGBTQ community, and you are having trouble navigating social forces or managing roles in your relationship. Or maybe you’ve been hurt so badly in a previous relationship that you have a difficult time trusting that your partner will be there for you when you need them.  

All relationships and marriages evolve, and sometimes that results in emotional disconnection. For instance, balancing the roles and demands of being a parent, a professional, and your own person may create distance in the relationship. If there is a lack of sexual intimacy, one of you may throw yourselves into parenting and the other into work—wherever you each feel the most valued and successful.

If infidelity or harmful secrets have cause an emotional divide, learning how to forgive and trust your partner again can be incredibly difficult. And even if there wasn’t a single straw that broke the camel’s back, time itself has a way of slowly laying bricks until one day you wake up and don’t even know where the disconnect began. 

Even if you feel like you have done everything to repair and restore your relationship, there is still hope. As a licensed marriage and family therapist, I can offer you an objective perspective on your relationship problems and provide you with the skills and tools necessary to heal and grow as a couple.

Even The Healthiest Couples Can Use Some Guidance

Nearly every couple will experience some tumultuous period in their relationship. Whether it’s about losing a job, transitioning into a new role, or navigating a power imbalance—every couple is going to struggle with something. The great news is that as long as two people can communicate with, listen to, and validate each other, they can overcome anything together. 

Unfortunately, people aren’t exactly taught how to communicate effectively and resolve conflict in relationships. Instead, everyone just wings it and does the best they can. But people tend to have underlying insecurities, fears, and negative beliefs about themselves that they unconsciously inject into a relationship, which drives a lot of the conflict couples experience. 

Moreover, most individuals don’t really know themselves or what they even need to be happy. As a result, they often seek out relationships hoping that someone else can fill the emptiness and heal the wounds within. However, one incomplete person simply cannot help another incomplete person become whole. A healthy, happy relationship requires that both individuals fully know themselves and are capable of taking responsibility for the dynamics they bring to the relationship. 

Fortunately, working with a couples or marriage counselor can give you valuable insight and skills that you can both use to heal your relationship, overcome future problems, and grow closer together. 

Couples Counseling Offers Each Person A Chance For Healing And Growth

Oftentimes, when couples come to see me, one person believes that they are in the right—and, in some cases, that can be true. However, couples therapy is about giving both individuals a chance to work on themselves as well as their relationship. It gives couples a space in which each person can speak and be heard without feeling attacked or judged. 

And because I can mediate sensitive and even controversial topics, you don’t have to worry about anyone shutting down or leaving the room. I’ve seen it all, and I’m comfortable with any discussion, so you can talk about anything with the confidence that you’ll be accepted as you are. 

To start, I’ll meet with you to get an overall idea of the challenges you are facing and where everyone is at in the relationship. We’ll explore the distance that’s grown between you, how severe it is, and what your goals for counseling are. 

Though you’ll be working together as a couple, if anything should come up that requires individual counseling, such as past trauma, I can refer that person out to another therapist to avoid any conflict of interest. My aim is to be as objective and fair as possible.

I take a flexible, person-centered approach to marital therapy and couples counseling that focuses on both long-term growth and short-term relief. That could mean dedicating multiple sessions to overcoming infidelity and then switching things up the next session to depersonalize and resolve a recent argument. In that way, my sessions are very much client-led and tailored to each situation.

When treating couples, I often draw from the Gottman Method, which focuses on teaching partners how to communicate, disagree, and even argue without shutting down or being malicious. It also shows partners how to translate and speak the love languages each person uses to express their affection. Additionally, Narrative Therapy enables people to disembody themselves from a problem or situation so they can respond to those challenges objectively and in accordance with their personal values.

I also work from a family systems perspective. So if you are blending families, dealing with an empty nest, or becoming a parent, couples counseling is a great way to overcome communication issues and other obstacles families commonly face. Throughout our counseling sessions, I’ll offer you guidance for resolving resentment, fostering greater sexual intimacy and trust, and communicating effectively so you both can feel safe being vulnerable.

Since 2009, I’ve been helping couples repair their relationships and gain a new perspective on how they can overcome adversity. And I know it is possible to have a more fulfilling relationship—one in which you feel emotionally connected to each other and mutually capable of handling conflict on your own terms. Whatever you and your partner are going through, couples therapy can show you how to empower and support one another, enabling you to overcome almost anything. 

Perhaps you are considering couples therapy, but you still have some concerns…

I’m worried that couples counseling will force us to break up or get a divorce.

My job as a licensed marriage and family therapist is to preserve and strengthen your relationship—not break it up. I don’t have an agenda other than giving each of you a safe, compassionate space in which to speak, listen, and be heard. I’ll never push you in any one direction; rather, I want to provide you with the insight and autonomy to do what is best for your relationship. As long as you are committed to understanding your dynamics and working together, there is very little you cannot accomplish. 

Do you offer counseling for gay and lesbian couples?

One of the most rewarding aspects of my work is being able to support historically underrepresented populations. Whether that includes the LGBT community, BIPOC, or even couples who simply feel like their connection defies labels, I love helping everyone realize their potential for happy, fulfilling relationships. Whatever your needs are, I’ll meet you with unconditional positive regard for who you are, the story you share, and the hopes you have for your relationship.

I don’t think we can find time in both of our schedules for marriage counseling.

One of the biggest obstacles any couple faces is simply having the time to perform maintenance on their relationship, which is why online counseling can be so beneficial. Rather than stressing out about having to leave work early, find a sitter for the kids, and then fight traffic, online marriage counseling allows me to meet you wherever you are. It’s less hassle and completely confidential. And because you can meet from where you feel the most comfortable, it can actually help facilitate the healing process.

Let Me Help You Restore And Deepen Your Connections

If you are ready to heal your relationship and grow as a couple, I would be honored to help. Please call  229-686-6449 for your free, 10 to 15-minute phone consultation to see how my approach to couples counseling and marriage therapy can help you heal, grow, and realize your potential for happiness.

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