Couples Counseling

Premarital Counseling –
A Delightful Preparation for a Life-long Commitment

So in Love

Love fills and overflows the atmosphere wherever you go.

You almost feel that your future marriage will be invincible with this love you’re feeling inside and with each other.

Even when there’s occasional angst between you, you have worked through it quickly to get back on the track of love and optimism.

And Yet…

You want your bond to be stronger, better.

Maybe the person you invited to marry you suggested it.

Or perhaps, deep down, you sense uncertainty – apprehension – about how to handle the differences you do have.

You’ve talked about it.

“It won’t hurt to get the premarital counseling,” you’ve said to yourselves.

And you’re right. You’ll certainly benefit from it, as testified by the many premarital couples I’ve worked with using Prepare/Enrich or SYMBIS tools.

Premarital counseling can help any couple, but it’s a must for every couple with different racial/ethnic and cultural backgrounds or kids from prior relationships who share different households.

Marriage Counseling – Triumph in the Here and Now

Far from Where You Started

All that electric wedding excitement seems centuries ago now.

You’re not sure when it started this way, but now the days are filled with strife and tears. Married life seems like a grinding machine, cutting away the tenderness, patience, understanding, connection, and trust you two once shared.

Instead, communication is rife with frustration and criticism, conflicts escalate from trivialities, and basic relationship issues (money, sex, kids, loyalty, you name it) now loom over you like insurmountable mountains.

“Two can be as bad as one.”

You don’t have to be alone to be lonely.

Repeatedly, you try to reach out to each other, but your efforts end only in further alienation. Why even bother?

It’s a confusing place – you try to figure out a clear direction for your marriage, but all you seem to find is more and more uncertainty.

You knew marriage wouldn’t be easy – you just didn’t realize it would be this hard.

But you’re not really alone!

Many couples have walked through similar valleys and emerged stronger on the other side –

With the help of a warm, compassionate, and nonjudgmental couples counselor and a safe space.

With help and work, both of you will gain a clearer direction for your marriage.

My Commitment to You

I provide a safe place for you to express yourselves honestly to each other.

But I can be direct if tension and escalation happen in our sessions. You don’t want to repeat with me what you experience at home.

It’s all for one and one for all. I take the side of your relationship, not one over the other. And I encourage you to do the same. I strive to maintain symmetry in and between the couples counseling sessions, so you both feel seen and heard and fully aware of everything happening on our journey.

And I don’t harbor secrets. We agree that from the beginning.

Your Commitment to Each Other

There’s always hope for your marriage, but each of you needs to take on individual responsibility to heal and grow.

You must bear mutual responsibility to get your relationship to where you want it to go.

And you must be open. We must explore the negative response patterns in your relational moves with each other – we use tango as an analogy for your marital dynamics.

We’ll do what’s best for your relationship. Sometimes, we’ll meet individually to clear out tension so that you can be better when you meet together again.

The Promise of the Journey

I’d love to explore with you the Biblical principles for the marital covenant established by God – if you desire to do so.

Regardless, once your relationship has healed, each of you will be happier and more satisfied. You’ll know all your work has been worthwhile.

I would be delighted to accompany the two of you on this journey. Please contact me now.