Couples and Family Therapy


Couples


Are you having the same old arguments; feeling stuck and unheard; torn by a family situation where you can see no way out. The poet Rilke says “For one person to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult task of all, the work for which all other work is but a preparation”.

Even when all seems impossibly stuck and lost couples and family counseling can help you move forward, toward a loving and fulfilling relationship. Relationships can be the greatest opportunity for growth and yet growth is often a bumpy journey. Working with a therapist can help couples get past their impasses so that they can move forward and grow in their relationships.

In the couples work that I do, I focus on developing healthy communication patterns between partners both verbally and non verbally. I also help couples to be clear about what role they are in with each other at any given time, what the goals of each role are, and what the behaviors are that will help them to reach their goals. In this process each partner may examine the strategies and patterns they have inherited from their parents and from the ways they have been socialized. I also help couples develop a pleasurable and creative relationship with each role and their capacity to attend to the playful spark of passion and connection that drew them together at the beginning of their relationship. In this process, each partner develops their skill in being both separate and connected. They also learn how to avoid the pitfalls of blame and criticism and to take full responsibility for creating the type of relationship they want to live in.

Your work in therapy sessions can also help you to decide that you no longer want to be together, and so can help you separate more compassionately and learn from the experience so that the same mistakes are not repeated in your next relationship. If there are children involved counseling can help a family to separate while minimizing the negative effects on the children.




Families


As we all discover, families can be a place of love and support, but they can also be a place of conflict and pain. Every family has communication problems and/or issues of some kind. Why settle for letting the same arguments and deep frustrations drag on for years. I can help create a safe space and provide expertise to help everyone express and work though their issues together. In addition, for any family, children bring their own challenges, especially teenagers. I can help your family navigate their way through this difficult time and decrease the stress on everyone.


Occasional therapeutic counseling can also be helpful in negotiating life changes due to career change, illness, and adding or losing family members, to name a few.




My Experience


I completed an advanced clinical postgraduate training in couples and family therapy at Hunter College, NYC. I am also the Clinical Consultant to an agency that specializes in couples and family therapy where I practice as well as teach and supervise other therapists. In addition, I see families and couples privately both in Brooklyn and in Manhattan.


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about me.