
I specialize in providing marriage counseling to couples of all ages. Often it is helpful for couples who are planning to marry to have pre-marital sessions to enhance their relationship and prevent possible problems from developing. Below are components of this counseling.
Assessment of five general areas:
- When difficulties began to occur during the relationship/marriage
- Developmental changes such as the birth of a child
- Individual issues, such as someone perhaps having medical or work problems
- Communication issues
- Other specific issues such as financial or parenting problems
Treatment:
- Develop a model of positive communication including how to deal with disagreements and frustrations with the spouse
- Identify and expand the positive aspects of the relationship
- Learn the components of an argument and how to separate out strong emotions and disagreements.
- Learn problem solving techniques to deal with disagreements
- Learn to identify and cope with strong emotions so such emotions don’t interfere with communication.
- Address specific problematic areas such as parenting, financial, and affection issues.