I have been working with individuals, couples and families for over 16 years.  My specialty is marriage therapy.  When a relationship has become strained or distant and you are not feeling close to your partner, you may feel hopeless that things will ever change. I believe both you and your spouse want to feel understood and that your needs will be met and respected. I think both of you want a happy and loving environment that you come home to at the end of the day. When there is too much alienation or conflict, it may be time to see a therapist for couples counseling. Counseling may help improve empathy and understanding. It will help both of you talk to each other, and will help you listen to what is being said. Counseling can help you and your partner move beyond a pattern of conflict and return to love.

Issues that come up in couples therapy may include anger management, sexual problems, money issues, past hurts that never got resolved, affairs,  anxiety and depression issues, alcohol and substance issues, and relationship with family and in-laws.

What I have been finding is that husbands and wives are not listening to each other.   They are not really communicating effectively.  There is hope  --  men and women can listen to each other with understanding and caring.

It takes the average couple six years to come in to couples counseling -- after the time they first think they should. This is emotional pain that you don't have to go through... if you seek out help sooner.

We are not taught how to have a happy relationship in school. There are no required classes in how differently men and women experience the world. But is is dramatically different. Yes...I know...in some ways it is very similar. But it is the differences that are crucial to understand. In couples counseling you will get the training they never provided in school. Training to know how to understand men, successfully handle women and their feelings...keep your partner happy, and get your needs met too.

By the way...there does seem to be a point of no return...where it is too late to repair a marriage.  Don't wait until you get to this point.  Take action now.  There is a saying: "Fortune favors the bold".  Be bold and get the support you need to repair your relationship.