Couples Therapy
Couples Therapy
Research shows that couples and marriage counseling increases respect, affection, closeness, connection, and the ability to manage conflict.
Research also shows that couples benefit more from couples therapy than individual therapy when it comes to their relationship. The latter can lead more to divorce than couples therapy.
Not feeling heard makes it hard to hear; feeling misunderstood makes it hard to be understanding. Couples therapy turns that on its head. Both partners feel heard and understood. That is a win-win.
My springboard for couples therapy began with becoming a certified Gottman therapist, then a facilitator for the Art and Science of Love weekend couples workshop, evolving to training professionals in levels 1 & 2 of the Gottman method couples therapy.
My journey continues to grow by learning and integrating other methods of couples therapy such as Psychobiological Approach Couples Therapy (PACT), Discernment Counseling, The Developmental Model of Couples Therapy. Recently, I became certified in working with neurodiverse couples and rediscovered how much I enjoy working with couples in recovery.
Conflict is inevitable in a relationship. I invite you to discover how you can rekindle your relationship. That there are strategies to reduce withdrawal, fighting, turn the conflict into mutual understanding and closeness.
Working With Couples
Take a look at Tim’s credential page and you can see how he has expanded his knowledge of marriage, relationships, and couples therapy by learning other models of couples therapy. It has helped him better understand the individual nuances that each couple can bring into the session.
Couples can be very vulnerable in therapy; it feels scary that many things are shared during the session – that they would prefer not even to admit to themselves.
Because of his earlier professional experience, Tim is referred to couples where substance issues impact the relationship, mental health & relational issues combined. He enjoys seeing couples in recovery, same-sex couples, and couples impacted by infidelity.
In some ways, substance use and infidelity are related issues. There are elements of trauma and betrayal in both. He has experience in addressing these issues relationally. Tim can ride the wave of their experience by providing them an anchor to talk about these problems as well as a path forward.
Tim takes particular satisfaction in working with couples to repair their relationship from the edge of the abyss. These couples are on/off the edge and when one makes a shift, the other response. They want the support and will blaze a new trail with the right help.
Couples Want Someone Who Can Understand Their Problems
In general, most couples are not concerned about the theory. They just want couples therapy to be effective. In a crisis, people aren’t looking for just dialogue. They want someone who can understand their problems quickly and give clear direction.
Tim often tells couples, “if I do anything, it is that I tie together their hard work.” That is what makes a good couples therapist. That’s the focus of my efforts. It is a maxim that I believe to be true.
It canoes the absence of problems that concerns any of us in a relationship, because life, and relationships are full of problems, it is more how we manage them. Couples therapy provides a way to use conflict to get closer and connected again.
The only criterion Tim needs from a couple is their desire to repair the relationship.