Great Couples Counseling in Westmont, IL. Therapy to heal relationships.

Do you feel exhausted from the constant arguing with your partner and alone in your relationship? Are you losing the connection with your partner which helped you fall in love with each other? The good news is that couples therapy can help. When you see me for couples therapy, we will create a plan together to work through high-conflict situations and stressful transitions so that you can find peace again and rekindle the connection with your partner. Give me a call today for a free consultation and we can put together a preliminary plan over the telephone.

Suspecting an affair? Have you just learned that your spouse wants a divorce? These are the types of crises situations that Kari Hunter specializes in. A relationship counselor for 25 years, she has worked with all types of couples to help them navigate the many difficulties that go along with love and partnership. Whether your relationship can benefit from conflict-resolution skills, communication coaching, or intimacy enrichment, don't wait until small problems become a crisis. But if you have gotten to the point of contemplating a break-up, there is a new service for that too, it is called Discernment counseling and it helps couples come to a mutual confident decision about the future.

Many issues bring a couple to seek counseling such as communication issues, cheating/trust issues, constantly fighting, wanting to improve whats already good, and many more. My approach includes working with both of you to help you learn new ideas and skills to improve your relationship. My goal is not to take sides but instead to help each of you understand your partners perspective even if you don't agree with it.

Most therapists are scared of providing couples counseling because it is difficult remaining unbiased towards two people who are in the throes of high conflict. However, I love it and it is my favorite type of counseling to provide. In my experience I have found most couples get caught up in the details of life and begin fighting to be right instead of fighting for each other. Instead of focusing on what they need to hear they become consumed over how their partner has wronged them. I focus on restoring reconciling the relationship to a place that is mutually beneficial for each partner using evidence based interventions from CBT, The Gottman Method, Bowen Family Systems, and ACT.

Our primary focus on couple counseling is addressing conflict resolution strategies and understanding the root of the conflict to get the best approach to resolve the conflict. Our strategy is improving communication skills and deepening the relationship and interactions between partners by exploring each other’s perspectives, needs and emotions. We provide tools for enhancing interaction and managing conflicts effectively.

Couples counseling can be beneficial to any couple in a committed relationship. If both partners are willing to participate, counseling can be effective regardless of sexual orientation, age, race or length of time spent together. Couples will benefit from tracking progress as it helps to promote emotional awareness, communication, and healthy changes in behavior. Couples counseling can benefit clients dealing with trust issues, financial burdens, resentment/unresolved issues, infidelity, transition phases and countless other challenges effecting the relationship.

Communication barriers and conflict are present in all relationships and it is most important to work through these issues together and in a way that supports growth and fosters love in relationships. In therapy I can provide techniques and a space for you to practice utilizing more effective ways to communicate that allows both people to feel heard and understood. I am available to help you work through conflicts and relationships goals in a safe space together.

I utilize and implement aspects of the Gottman approach to helping couples heal. I assist each person in the couple in helping them recognize how they communicate with and impact the other, and how some communication patterns are ineffective. I assist couples in finding effective communication strategies, healthy interaction and intimacy patterns, while building trust and respect for one another.

We can help you create and sustain a close, honest and mutually satisfying relationship you deserve. Whether you are struggling with profoundly serious relational patterns, sexual challenges, communication problems, or just a few bumps in your road, our method of couples counseling can move you from pain, silence or anger to passion, restoration and love. Use the menu as ideas to discuss with your therapist your specific desires and goals to create the relationship you want. There is no problem too difficult, too deep, or too ingrained that cannot benefit from counseling. No matter what stage in your relationship, from the first spark to healing ongoing wounds we can help. Communication Therapy All couples create negative patterns of communication...(view profile to read more)

I recognize that each couple is unique, in their approach to life and to each other. I would focus on their strengths, especially as work on their problematic areas began. I encourage open communication but discourage name calling; I also encourage the use of "I feel" statements. I would be interested in their individual life histories in that the baggage we bring to relationships cannot be removed, but responses to behavior can be altered. And sometimes awareness of why an individual acts and/or feels a certain way can be quite helpful.

Infidelity. Communication. Past emotional injury. Criticism and Defensiveness. These issues are by far the most common issues in couples across demographics and locations. Yet, no two couples are the same. Each relationship interacts, relates and communicates in different ways; and each couple will heal differently. In addition, couples from the LGBTQIA, poly/nonmonogamy & kink community often face additional societal or family-related challenges that often impact the relationship. By reconnecting you emotionally, we'll work as a team to improve your communication, heal past injuries, revitalize intimacy, rebuild trust and create new pathways of love & acceptance.

Is your relationship not where you thought it would be? Are you having problems with communication and misunderstandings? Has life gotten in the way of your relationship? Relationships take work and with careers, children and life in general, it is not uncommon for relationships to get off track. Collaboratively, we can work to improve communication and find that spark that initially attracted the two of you in the first place. We can discover ways to reawaken and relight the hopes and dreams you had for your relationship. For more information, please contact me or visit my website.

Many kinds of couples find their way to counseling with me. I see married couples, couples with step and blended families, new and old couples, co-habiting couples, bisexual and gay couples, swinging couples, and premarital couples. I enjoy working with the interplay between partners. Most clients come in to better their communications and lessen specific conflict s around decisions and patterns of behavior. Many come in to struggle about separation, divorce and infidelity. Couples who see me usually understand their personal issues more fully and know more about their partner then before counseling. They tend to feel more connected, warm and more respectful of one another.