Great Couples Counseling in Laurel, MD. Therapy to heal relationships.

Robyn E. Brickel, M.A., LMFT is a trained marriage and family therapist and a clinical fellow member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. Robyn incorporates systems based theories, along with her training in IMAGO Relationship Therapy and Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) to help couples - both married and in relationships reach their goals of improving their relationships. We offer couples counseling to couples of any sexual preference.

Are you struggling to get along with someone whom you thought you loved? Are you seeking to fortify your relationship and cut get rid of all those doubts and mistrust issues which are permeating your relationship. Couples counseling can help you and your significant other learn ways to openly talk about the areas of strength and weakness in your relationship. You owe it to yourself to explore.

Working with couples is a dynamic process that requires the therapist to maintain a safe space where both people can feel heard and understood. I am a certified Imago therapist and use a dialogical process to increase the emotional intimacy between the two people. I have worked with straight, bi, gay and lesbian and transgendered couples, and many different ethnic groups---and find that the challenges are essentially the same---to create a bond of trust that allows for all parts of the two people to show up and be accepted in the relationship. I share helpful handouts that people can use when they are home, to be able to deal with conflict more skillfully.

Couple and marriages learn healthy ways to manage their feelings and thoughts. Learn healthy communications skills, conflict resolutions, mindfulness, languages of love, reconnecting on a deeper emotional level, and the power of forgiveness and creating loving patterns and releasing old negative patterns that destroy love! Rebuild re connect and learn how to use your gift of love and wisdom to heal your relationship.

Many couples have difficulties communicating. There may have been an affair or there may be a loss of intimacy. I can teach you powerful ways to respectfully resolve issues, communicate and connect in a safe, nurturing way to restore caring and love. You can learn effective ways to bring healing and forgiveness back into your relationship. Since each couple is unique, I use a variety of approaches, such as, the 'Couples Dialogue' developed by Dr. Harville Hendrix, Emotionally Focused Therapy of Dr. Susan Johnson, research of Dr. John Gottman, among others. I also help premarital couples to avoid pitfalls in their relationship and prepare for a successful long-term relationship.

My work with couples revolves around parenting and management of symptoms in their children. I do not provide traditional couples or marriage therapy. Most of my work with parents involves supporting them while they help their children navigate challenging circumstances or symptoms. This can include behavioral concerns, sleep problems, managing medical conditions, and childhood mood symptoms.

Working with couples is my area of expertise and passion. I have seen relationships transform through the power of mutual understanding and increased sensitivity. Often couples become so entrenched in certain communication patterns that they can't even really see when and if their partner is trying to do something different. This is one way working with a good couples therapist can be so powerful - they can act as "translator" for partners, and dig through the years of pain and pattern to what's really in each other's minds and hearts. If both partners are willing, it's amazing what can happen; and even if only one person is willing, change is possible. I hold the hope until they can.

Given the many challenges that can lead to divorce (money problems, adultery, differences in raising children, etc.) the wisest thing couples can do is to seek Christian counseling before they say "I do." No matter how solid a couple’s relationship may be, problems and differences will inescapably arise. Therefore, pre-marital counseling really operates as the best security system a couple could ever purchase. Our Christian counselors can be beneficial by familiarizing couples with targeted areas of conflict that often lead to divorce. These areas are: • Communication • In-Laws • Money/finances • Sexuality • Spiritual Intimacy • Roles (delegation of responsibilities)

Are you engaged and need premarital counseling? Or, perhaps you are married and simply "fell out of love". Is there an infidelity that needs to be forgiven, and the desire to repair the marriage? Is arguing the norm between the two of you? Through faith-based counseling a healthier "couple" will emerge and manifest. In a nonjudgmental and safe environment, exploration will take place to identify and eradicate the problematic circumstances. I look forward to working with you, and I applaud you for taking the first step toward a happier state of co-existence! Let's start your tomorrow today.

Your relationship with your partner is the most important relationship in your life. Relationship issues touch every area of our lives. Learning healthy relationship skills is a fundamental building block of a successful life. Through therapy, you will learn how to achieve intimacy, manage conflict, how to give and receive love, and to create the relationship you have always wanted.

One of the most prevaling issues with one or both is to not feel "heard". Much emphasis has to be on the word "feelings". If one or the other has been abused in some way, they are very sensitive to "feelings". The word "being" is a key for stabilization of the relationship. I have done much research on the "Keys to Life" and one of the necessities is to trust. Listening and trusting are probably the glue that holds any relationship together and is foundational. A couple learning their primary function is not about themselves, but the common good of the family unit. After all, what will be your legacy? What will you be known for?

I work with couples to help them create new and stronger avenues of communication--allowing them to find, once again, the joy each partner had in the other. Whether work has stressed your relationship, or children have created the gap, we can reimagine ways to find closer connections. Perhaps you feel as if you're roommates more than a couple. Or one of you has been tempted to stray--or has strayed--but you want to do the work to come back together. Therapy helps you find the new ways you need to communicate, leading to a stronger bond between you.

I provide marriage and couples counseling. I help couples to improve their communications to reduce arguing and to improve their understanding of each other. I also work with couples going through the pain of an affair. In most cases couples can work through their feelings and have an improved connection. Being a male therapist sometimes can help reluctant husbands/partners feel more comfortable coming to therapy and talking in therapy.