Time to Take an Active Step in Your Marriage.
Identify Barriers Better
Create Connection Easier
Resolve Problems Faster
How to Know It’s Time for Marriage Counseling:
- Do you often feel alone, even though you are in a relationship?
- Do you and your spouse find yourself arguing over and over about the same things without coming to a resolution?
- Does it feel like your conflict has become unproductive or overwhelming?
- Does it seem like your relationship has become less satisfying since having children?
- Are you feeling uncared for, disrespected, or not loved by your partner?
- Is the intimacy gone?
- Has there been an affair, or are you contemplating having an affair?
- Are you contemplating leaving or separating?
A lot of times, couples think these signs are what signal the starting line for when it’s time to seek help from a marriage counselor. But according to research by the Gottman Institute, the average couple waits 6 years after a problem starts in their relationship before they will seek help from a counselor.
If anything on the list above resonated with you, you are likely overdue for getting help from a marriage counselor.
The good news is that help is available and nothing on the list above is a surefire sign of the end.
Evidence-Based Approaches to Marriage Counseling
Using evidence-based therapy, we teach you specific and practical tools to deepen friendship and intimacy in your relationship. To help you productively manage conflicts, you will be given methods to manage “resolvable problems” and dialogue about “gridlocked” (or perpetual) issues. We will also work together to help you appreciate your relationship’s strengths and to gently navigate through its vulnerabilities.
Thinking Practically About Marriage Counseling
Imagine for a moment your car has an issue.
If it’s a simple problem or if you know what you’re doing, maybe you fix it yourself. If not, you’re going to need to take it to a mechanic to help. Even during the times when there isn’t a problem, you still need to do regular maintenance on it to make sure small problems don’t turn into big problems later.
The problems in our marriages get worse when we misdiagnose big problems as small ones, ignore small problems until they turn into big ones, or refuse to get help when we don’t actually know how to fix something.
Relationships are not always simple things. They are not self-maintaining and they don’t always fix themselves. Plus, just because you’re in the relationship doesn’t mean you automatically know how to diagnose and fix the problems on your own when they come up.
Living Well Therapy is a Couples Counseling & Marriage Therapy Clinic in Neptune Beach, FL Offering Sessions Online and In-Person
Our Team of Marriage Counselors
All of Our Counselors Are Trained in Emotion-Focused Couples Counseling & The Gottman Method of Couples Therapy
The Five Parts of Gottman Method Counseling
1. Assessment
In these first sessions, you will complete the Gottman Relationship Checkup online, which helps us better understand your relationship, as well as discuss your goals for therapy.
2. Treatment
Then we meet with you individually to learn each of your personal histories and give each of you an opportunity to share thoughts, feelings and perceptions.
3. Phasing Out of Therapy
In the final session of assessment, we will share with you our recommendations for treatment and work to define mutually agreed upon goals for your therapy.
4. Termination
No one wants to be in couples counseling forever. We help put a plan together to give you the tools you need to navigate your relationship in a successful ad emotionally healthy way.
5. Outcome Evaluation
At the end of the treatment plan, we evaluate the outcomes with you based on the goals set out at the beginning and reflect back on the tools and skills you’ve learned.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will we be seen together or separately?
Most of the work will involve sessions where you will be seen together as a couple. However, there may be times when individual sessions are recommended. We may also give you exercises to practice between sessions.
How long will we be in couple’s therapy?
Most couples see us for about 12 sessions over the course of treatment. The length of the therapy will be determined by your specific needs and goals. In the course of your couples counseling we will establish points at which to evaluate your satisfaction and progress. Also, we will encourage you to raise any questions or concerns that you have about therapy at any time.
How does couples' therapy end?
In the later stage of therapy, we will “phase out” or meet less frequently in order for you to test out new relationship skills and to prepare for termination of the therapy. Although you may terminate therapy whenever you wish, it is most helpful to have at least one session together to summarize progress, define the work that remains, and say good-bye.
Are there any long-term plans or follow ups?
In the outcome-evaluation phase of couples counseling, as per the Gottman Method, four follow-up sessions are planned: one after six months, one after twelve months, one after eighteen months, and one after two years. These sessions have been shown through research to significantly decrease the chances of relapse into previous, unhelpful patterns. In addition, commitment to providing the best therapy possible requires ongoing evaluation of methods used and client progress. The purpose of these follow-up sessions then will be to fine-tune any of your relationship skills if needed, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the therapy received.