Factors of everyday life can put an abundant strain on any relationship. When ongoing stressors go unchecked in a couple's relationships for a long periods of time, it can yield to resentment, infidelity, intimacy issues, lack of trust, and miscommunication. Feelings of guilt, shame, dissatisfaction or hopelessness can result whether one or both partners detect a problem, or perhaps when a partner is suffering from mental illness or health complications. Communicating effectively on both parts can alleviate emotional anxiety from subjects of all kind.
Couples often seek couples or marriage counseling when the relationship is at a standstill, or when they are unsure whether or not the relationship is worth salvaging. This type of therapy can benefit families with children who have been affected by relationship issues such as divorce, and confront the source of the conflict.
Treatment methods that I use with couples include Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, Imago Relationship Therapy, Family Systems therapy, and the Gottman Method. Getting to the root of the problem, analyzing attachment styles, improving communication methods, and using positive approaches to conflict are often an integral part of improving a couples interpersonal dynamics. Couples will learn how to hear and understand one another, how to negotiate conflict and improve communication, and how to establish increased emotional intimacy. Individual counseling and couples retreats are often effective supplements to couples therapy work.