Marriage and Couples Counseling and Therapy

• Do you feel like the spark is gone in your marriage or relationship?
  
• Have you been feeling disconnected from your spouse or partner? Like you and you significant other just don't understand one another anymore?
  
• Have you been arguing or fighting over minor issues?
• Are you avoiding your spouse or partner?
  
• Has there been violence (either verbal or physical) in your home?
• Are you ready to "thow in the towel" but want to make sure you have tried everything to save you marriage or relationship (especially if you have children)?
  

Any relationship between 2 people has 3 (yes, three) dynamics at play: 1)Your dynamics, 2)The other person's dynamics, and 3)The relationship's dynamics, which is NOT just a co-mingling of you and the other person's dynamics . . . the relationship's dynamics includes both of you, but also has some manifestations of its own. For example, I was doing couples counseling with a couple who individually were extremely shy, but when together, were rather outgoing and loud. Interesting? Yes. Unhealthy or a bad match, not at all. It was their other differences that added some spice to the relationship (please don't misinterpret this to mean that opposites always attract, or that all birds of a feather flock together).

Would we benefit from marital or couples counseling?

Anybody who has been married any length of time can tell you that marriage is not as easy as it looks in the movies, or in our fantasies. It is hard work, often well worth it, but sometimes it does not seem like it; and sometimes this dance seems to have no rhyme or reason. It is when you and/OR your spouse begin to consistently feel this apathy about working on the relationship that couples counseling becomes vital. Obviously, when you can notice things (i.e., awareness) going in this direction before the apathy occurs, then even better - get started at that point using communication skills (involving both how to send AND receive communication), counseling, and mutual respect to potentially head off the apathy.

As with many other topics in this website, following through on these ideas/suggestions can be much easier said than done. Keep trying - persistence and consistency are some of the most powerful tools we have available to us.

"The Relationship Cure," and "Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work" are extremely helpful books to read when working on your relationships (martial or otherwise).

Contact us for Marital or Couples counseling and therapy.