Marriage Counseling and Couples Therapy
Experiencing relationship problems? Are you worried about a breakup or divorce?
The following are some of the most common signs of relationship problems:
- Feeling as if you've grown apart
- Lots of arguing, nagging, or angry silence
- Infidelity - My gut tells me that my partner is having an affair
- Problems do not get resolved
- There is physical, sexual or psychological violence in your relationship
- Your financial situation is out of control
- Lack of intimacy and affection - when was the last time you had enough romance or sex
- Feeling unappreciated
- Your needs are not important to your partner
- Communication is often one sided, hostile, sarcastic, angry, or completely avoided
- You and your partner spend little or no time alone
- Trust issues - dishonesty, affairs, unexplained absences, secrecy regarding email, phone and text messages
If you are experiencing one or more of these signs, Brief Marriage Counseling can help.
What is Brief Marriage Counseling?
Brief Marriage Counseling focuses on clearing away past issues that continue to affect your present situation while developing new skills to solve your current issue. Working collaboratively with Dr. Stulberg, you learn fresh techniques that help to heal old wounds, address conflicting priorities and betrayal of trust, and bring balance back into your lives. Habitual patterns of negative interaction can be replaced by fresh, passionate, love-enhancing behavior.
Whether you are about to make a relationship commitment, want to improve a good relationship, or want to save a very troubled one, Brief Marriage Counseling can make a significant contribution.
How to choose a Marriage Counselor or Couples Therapist
- Make sure that you have chosen a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT). Licensed marriage and family therapists are mental health professionals with a minimum of a master's degree in marriage and family therapy and 200 hours of supervised clinical experience by a licensed marriage and family therapist.
- Make sure that your LMFT has specific training and experience in marriage and family therapy. Are they a clinical fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)? Clinical fellows of AAMFT are LMFTs specifically trained to diagnose and treat relationship problems from a systemic perspective and are experienced in providing marriage counseling. Make sure that your marriage counselor is a LMFT and clinical fellow of AAMFT.
- Think with your gut. I tell all of my clients, you are the consumer. If you feel that your marriage counselor is helping, then you will know in a few sessions. Stick with it, even when the work is hard. Trust your gut.
"We're Stuck!"
As Brief Therapists we often hear those two words from you, our clients. You have tried everything that you can think of in your attempts to resolve the situation, including using suggestions from websites, your friends and loved ones. However, no matter what you try, the problem won’t go away and sometimes you feel as if your attempts make the problem worse.
Proactive vision is a fundamental element of the brief, collaborative therapy approach that helps you to develop hope for the future. For example, by asking each of you what the problem would look like if there were a 2% change, you can begin to envision possibilities for change. Those possibilities could generate unique ideas and goals, which through action move you closer to the change you desire.
Interested in getting unstuck? I would welcome the opportunity to collaborate with you towards a future filled with possibilities.
