Couples Counseling

Open communication and listening to understand are paramount in a relationship. Unfortunately, most of us did not learn these skills growing up. We were not taught how to be vulnerable with others and have conversations about sensitive topics such as money and sex. On top of that, we enter intimate relationships with pre-conceived ideas about countless things from gender roles to expectations. Most of the time, we are not even aware of how these unconscious beliefs affect us, let alone how they affect our partners and our relationship.

Miscommunication, or misunderstandings, often lead to conflict and over time, they can become perpetual problems if not resolved. Heightened emotions and personalizing the situation can escalate the issue until it is out of control and neither partner can think logically or has any interest in understanding the other’s perspective. Compromise becomes near impossible as neither wants to see the other person “win.” Couples counseling can help you learn how to utilize communication to strengthen your relationship instead of strain it. Seeking help can help you both feel like you’re winning.

Couples typically go to therapy because they want to stay together and cannot figure out how to make it work anymore. Often, they have been suffering for a while and finally go to counseling as a last resort to save their relationship. Other times, they may not believe there is hope anymore and want to part amicably because of children or intertwined lives. Sometimes the pair is split with one person desperately trying to save the relationship after the other has checked out. There are a variety of reasons that couples go to therapy; we can help you create a personalized course of action to help you achieve your goal.

Parent Coaching

Becoming a parent is one of the most demanding jobs in the world. The last thing you want is someone else criticizing your parenting or giving unwarranted advice. Typically you either parent your children the way you learned from your own parents, or you do the complete opposite for the same reason. As children get older, they begin to become more independent. This is a normal developmental shift, however, sometimes parents over-correct and seem to tighten their grip. Sometimes this results in teens seeking more independence by defying rules or even running away.

In working with adolescents, we have observed several patterns such as this one that occurs between parents and their children. We want to help parents and children alike by teaching parents new strategies to elicit more desirable results. It could be as simple as learning how to stay calm instead of matching their emotional level or modeling the behavior that you want to see. Maintaining age-appropriate boundaries that evolve as they age can also help reduce tension.

A combination of family therapy and parent coaching may be beneficial in order to practice new skills in session. Schedule a consultation today to see how we can assist you in creating a new, healthy normal.