Great Couples Counseling in Santa Fe Springs, CA. Therapy to heal relationships.

My approach to counseling couples is to believe that all people in relationships want two things: To be loved and to be accepted. When couples seek psychotherapy, they are fighting because they do not feel loved but instead are feeling rejected, abaondoned or alone. People also are not feeling accepted but instead are feeling judged, criticized, or blamed for who they are. Couples will benefit from my approach as I help people learn how to work through hurt, anger and blame, love and forgiveness, and boundaires and acceptance. When you feel loved and accepted, you will benefit from wanting to work with one another to solve relationship problems and find success in being a couple.

I enjoy working collaboratively with couples and moving towards what they want their story to be. What do they stand for as a couple? What is getting in the way of their desired story? What are their strengths? How are the outside influences such as culture and family affecting them? How can they come together based on their values? Is there healing to be done in the areas of trust, jealousy, or infidelity? Every relationship is different and I help all types of couples re-connect and move forward.

Problems you may be experiencing in your relationship do not occur overnight. It takes relationship neglect over time before significant problems develop. When you withhold feelings, especially feelings of hurt, the hurt soon turns into resentment. When resentful, neither partner can hear what is being said and you may then soon experience an "emotional deadening" where you and your partner feel as though you are more like roommates than soulmates. When the passion fades and the communication and connection fail, it's imperative that you seek counseling. Feel free to call my office for a free 15 minute phone consultation at 800-474-1445 or email me at Garydoctor@aol.com.

Communication and Commitment-- two vital words for Couples. I've heard it said we choose to love someone and we choose to stay in love with that person. Are you going to hightail it out of there after the first sign of conflict or stay and face the music? That music can be beautiful when seasoned with the right tools and mindset. Couple relationships are not always Romance and Caviar. There are dry spells. I'd like to show you how to weather the dry spells and increase the joy and romance in your relationship. I will show you how to prevent the conflicts and trials of life from robbing that first love you felt in the beginning. I can help you restore that sweetness and passion.

When couples wish to work through their relationship difficulties, or do premarital couples therapy, they will find my office to be a safe, nonjudmental, and encouraging space. You will colaborate with your spouse, and prioritize issues you'd like to discuss. You will explore your own ability for acceptance and tolerance of your spouse's behavior. We will work together on communication skills, and styles, we'll try to soften the dialogue. We'll learn about problem solving skills with which husband and wife are heard. If there are sexual problems, I have experience in treating sex addiction, internet pornography addiction, and the affect of extended families on your relationship.

I am a Level 3 Trained GOTTMAN METHOD COUPLES THERAPY (GMCT) counselor. GMCT is a research-based approach that will help you and your partner understand each other on a deeper level, better manage conflict and differences, turn toward each other, reignite intimacy, and make your life dreams come true. I work extensively with infidelity and betrayal, pre-marital, discernment (do I stay or do I go?) addictions. My practice is open to all sexualities, as well as non-monogamy couples.

At Relationships For Better, my specialization is Couples Counseling. In the process of Couples Therapy, partners or spouses find security in the warmth of my home-like office to deepen their understanding of their relationship, improve communication patterns, and find healing for past hurts. My goal at Relationships For Better is to help individuals thrive in their relationships: no matter what they've been through. If you are ready for positive transformation in your relationship and a safe place to receive support, call me at (626) 272-4908. I'm eager to connect with you!

I specialize in Couples Therapy at the Narrative Couples Center. I help partners to achieve new stories for the future. My approach is strength-based. It explores what couples hold most precious in their lives and relationships and brings people closer to their hopes and preferences. My counseling offers tools and collaboration to help each member of a relationship to move towards shared understanding.

I believe couples naturally select partners who will eventually restimulate old hurts. If couples can recognize this, then conflict becomes an opportunity for healing and growth. My job in working with couples is to help them identify these old hurts and work together with one another to understand and provide compassion for one another as they do this work. Emotional intimacy is the natural outcome of this powerful work.

What brought you together? What drew you to each other? What are your shared hopes, dreams and values? These are just some of the questions that I ask couples in order to help re-connect them with what they hold dear to their hearts; with what they give meaning because I believe that what we give meaning to helps us face the difficult times in relationships.

I have worked with hundred's of couples over the last 20 years. Each couple is unique in their own right which means there is no one way to "fix" a problem. Our deepest longings and hopes emerge in a couples relationship. Oftentimes we are working out unmet needs and hopes carried forward from our early family relationships to our present couple relationship. Problems become increasingly complex and difficult to overcome when we don't know what these issues are all about. Couples remain stuck in conflict not because of what they know, but what they don't know or can't recognize. The work in therapy is to help couples recognize unhealthy patterns of relating and introduce novelty.

Relationships are hard. This is a fact that many people deny and others become aware of when it is too late. By creating an environment where couples can communicate in an honest manner, I work with them to establish clear lines of communication. In addition to working with couples, I am currently working toward a certification as a sex therapist.

I have been helping couples heal their relationships for more than 29 years. Effective therapy includes developing a clear understanding of the different family "cultures" couples have been raised in, and a clear perspective of how early hurts and pain can be re-triggered by the current marital or couple relationship. Communication skills are essential for working through chronic or immediate pain a couple is experiencing together--and empathy for the each other's perspective is at the heart of those skills. It is also essential to know when a relationship has the potential to open up and grow, and when development together is no longer currently possible due to abuse or excessive hostility