Great Couples Counseling in Murphy, TX. Therapy to heal relationships.

Couples usually come for marriage counseling or couples therapy when a difficult relationship has become painful. This could result from a crisis, an ongoing struggle, a difficult life circumstance, or a betrayal. For many people, the situation feels either scary or hopeless. My goal is to help you rebuild a loving close relationship. I work hard to provide a safe, caring environment where each of you will feel heard and validated that your opinion matters.

Couples counseling is extremely rewarding work when the lights come on for the couple about how to relate to each other in ways that they both appreciate. We begin with basic understandings about boundaries and learn quickly how to talk and act in healthier ways. Most of us simply communicate the way that our parents did and if we can learn to improve on this just a little, there is almost immediate relief. Using better boundaries (even in talking) are the building block for healthier communication and better emotional intimacy.

Hope is a renewable blessing. One of the main ingredients to successful marital counseling is that clients want and believe that the process will work. Using the Gottman model and Family Systems Principles, I have had success in helping couples achieve new feelings and thinking that are positive. The emblematic triangle of Commitment, Passion, and Intimacy is explained and reinforced throughout all session work. Breakthroughs in intimacy for couples often happen right in session, though one or both partners is averse to or afraid of intimacy because of past experiences. Conflict resolution, communication, and downright friendship are all skills that can be learned through counseling.

There are countless models of healthy romantic relationships, from monogamous to polyamorous, and unique variations between partners. The scripts for dating and longterm relationships of our parents’ generations may not be applicable to your relationship, and there is no formal education in how to be a good partner or how to identify unhealthy relationships. But there is psychological research that shows that effective communication, emotional openness, intimacy, and other factors contribute to healthy relationships. Creating these conditions are skills that can be learned. I practice brief humanistic and emotion-focused therapy (EFT) to help my LGBTQ and hetero clients learn these skills.