Couples Therapy and Counseling
Do you feel stuck in your relationship? Do you want to stop fighting and start connecting? Do you try to relate with your partner and end up pushing him/her away? Have you tried other couples therapies and left not feeling helped?
We recognize the risk involved in pursuing couples counseling.
We often work with couples who are overwhelmed by work demands, stressed out by their home life, and empty or hurting in their relationship. In our first meeting, we help couples decide what help they need. Couples often arrive to that first couples counseling session with doubts and questions. They wonder whether to persist in repairing the marriage or to leave it, and may be skeptical of finding any help. They might have endured a great deal of hurt in their lives and in their relationship, yet still want to see if there is a chance to relate differently or feel more connected. In that initial consultation, we help couples sort through some of these questions and decide whether they are able and willing to commit to the therapy process, which will work toward the goal of fighting less, understanding each other better, and connecting more fully with each other.
Working with your partner during your sessions creates a path for reaching understanding through connecting conversations, both of which can enhance and strengthen your relationship as a couple and as parents. Although we draw from many models of couples therapy, including Imago Relationship Therapy and Relationship Enhancement Couple & Family Therapy, we use the most effective couples therapy approach to date, Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT). In our work with couples through EFT, we help partners replace old fights and cycles with new, more positive conversations. EFT is an evidence-based couples therapy that for the best benefit lasts between 20 and 30 sessions. It involves regular—ideally weekly—meetings, with you and your partner.
Some EFT goals include helping partners discover where they are stuck in their relationship, how they each get blocked from relating well to their partner, and what their individual coping styles, are especially when hurting or distressed. By focusing on these steps and trying to help partners understand their perceptions and uncover their guarded feelings toward each other, partners can begin to understand their own and their partner’s reactions more fully. This understanding offers couples a chance to try to catch those moments of relating poorly and create new moments where they see and perhaps experience each other more compassionately. New conversations beget new patterns of relating over time.
We are located in NW Washington, DC. To find out how we can help, call us or visit our contact page to fill out our contact form.
