Couples counseling | Couples therapy | Marriage counseling

Overcoming relationship problems with the help of couples counseling and couples therapy/marriage therapy

In my counseling practice, couples often tell me that they long believed they could overcome their problems without outside help. What very few couples consider when caught in a spiral of negative emotions is that sometimes an outside perspective or a neutral sounding board is needed to break free from this downward spiral, access their own resources, and begin working towards solutions.

As an expert in couples counseling and couples therapy/marriage therapy, I am happy to assist you.

What you can achieve with the help of couples counseling and couples therapy/marriage therapy

• They begin to listen to each other again, and they also listen to their own inner selves. This gives them the chance to see things in a new or different way.
• You take a step back and look at your situation from a "hot air balloon perspective." This allows you to detach yourself from the details of your difficulties and recognize broader connections. You gain more clarity.
• They take the time to develop ideas on how to break free from unhealthy relationship patterns and what they can do differently together.
• You will receive information about which behaviors are beneficial or detrimental to a partnership. You will practice skills that facilitate living together.
• You discover what lies beneath your difficulties and what motivates your actions. This creates a good foundation for positive change.
• During the counseling process, you will examine your attitudes towards your partner and your ideas about living together. You will recognize the conditions under which these attitudes developed and decide whether you want to correct or change any of them.
• They discover goals worth striving for.

What you need to bring:
Your willingness to question yourself and your actions, to gain insights and to experiment with new behaviors in everyday life is the only requirement for your success in couples counseling and couples therapy/marriage therapy.

Reasons for couples counseling and marriage therapy:
You're simply living side by side. You haven't known what's really on each other's minds or where you stand in the relationship and in life for quite some time. Spending time together has become a rare exception.

• You feel alone in your relationship. You lack recognition and respect from your partner.
• An affair has come to light. Now you're both caught in a whirlwind of emotions and don't know which way is up in your relationship.
• They constantly argue over trivial things. Being together therefore means, for quite some time, moving in a highly charged environment.
• They function brilliantly as a team, but as a couple, they no longer exist. They also rarely have sex anymore.
• As parents, you are unable to agree on a parenting style. This is a source of constant conflict in your relationship.
• With all the daily to-dos, one of you is overwhelmed and feels insufficiently supported by the other. This is putting a strain on your relationship. There's constant friction between you, and the distance between you is growing.
• One partner is ill. This changes your relationship. It creates uncertainties between you that you don't know how to handle.
• They share a wonderful family life. However, since the birth of their child, they have lost each other as a couple.
• You live with your partner as a blended family or regularly receive visits from your child/children. This puts a strain on the relationship because one or both partners repeatedly ask themselves, "Where do I fit in? What is my role?".

The process of couples counseling/therapy
: Whether you come to couples counseling/therapy alone or as a couple, in the first session you will explain your reasons for coming. If you come as a couple, you will each have your own, possibly different, reasons for seeking couples counseling/therapy.

Together, we will explore your motivation for seeking counseling and identify your shared goal – or, if you are coming as a couple. After the session, you can decide whether you wish to work towards this goal through couples counseling/therapy.

If you agree to further discussions, you will work towards your goal and may discover additional goals:
With the help of couples counseling/couples therapy, you will examine your own attitudes, reflect on your behavior and experiment with new behaviors – always with a view to your goal and the question "Does this help?".

As the client, you decide when to end couples counseling/therapy. A good time to end might be when you feel that the counseling is no longer providing you with new ideas or perspectives, when you are not gaining any new insights, and/or when you perceive the changes achieved as stable.

Cost:
on request