Preparing for Marriage and Restoring Broken Marriages

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Marriage is one of the most critical areas of counseling.  Many people come to counseling for various reasons, but interestingly enough many of the challenges people face can be traced back to their current marriage and/or the marital relationship their parents had.  Our marriages affect us and practically all aspects of our lives and that is why it is my personal belief that we must adequately prepare for marriage and do all we can to protect and maintain our current marriages. 

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Are you considering getting married or engaged?  We invest so much into other areas of our lives but little goes into preparing for marriage.  I would encourage you to contact me regarding the programs I offer to help you get started on the right foot.   I have a very comprehensive approach to pre-marital counseling to help you have the most successful relationship possible.

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Are you married and your relationship is struggling? Are you considering divorce or separation? With time and effort marriages can recover by addressing problems in these specific areas:

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Communication

Assertiveness & Active Listening

Daily Dialogue & Compliments

Financial Management

Stress Management

Identifying Relationship Roles

Seeking & Granting Forgiveness

Increasing Emotional & Physical Intimacy

Parenting & Co-Parenting Skills

Achieving Your Individual and Couples Goals Together

 

In order to identify and address these issues I implement several different therapeutic approaches as well as a comprehensive online assessment program called Prepare/Enrich to give you the tools you need long-term success in your relationship.

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Couples Counseling Defined

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Attempting to define counseling and psychotherapy in easily understood and precise terms can be extremely challenging because there are so many different definitions and perspectives.  If I were to define therapy I would say that couples counseling is the informed and intentional application of scientifically derived principles and practices through ethically established means that involves the development of a therapeutic relationship between a trained professional (the counselor) and a couple seeking assistance (the counselee) in resolving large or small psychological and/or relational problems through the modification of behaviors, cognitions, emotions and other personal characteristics that the counselee and counselor deem reasonable and desirable.

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Having said that, I believe it is the Christian foundation from which all other counseling and therapy are built upon.  I have found no better definition than that of Dr. R. K. Bufford to describe the integration of Christian Faith into clinical practice.  Dr. Bufford states, “Counseling is most truly Christian when the counselor has a deep faith; counsels with excellence; holds a Christian world view, is guided by Christian values in choosing the means, goals and motivations of counseling; actively seeks the presences and work of God; and actively utilizes spiritual interventions and resources within ethical guidelines.”  Christian integration in counseling can be either implicit or explicit based on the needs and desires of the individual being counseled.  It should be noted that Christian Integration is not to be confused with converting individuals to the Christian faith or the debate of Christian principals and doctrines.  It should also be noted that Christian Integration is not required in order for counseling to begin.

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Each couple enters into counseling their own unique set of circumstances and desired outcomes.  For this reason I choose to use Christian principles found in the bible as the foundation as well as several other clinical therapeutic approaches in an effort to meet each couples unique circumstances and goals with the hope of attaining the best possible outcome.  Implementing different aspects of several different approaches gives me the ability to more accurately meet your needs.  Please contact me with any questions regarding couples counseling, I look forward to hearing from you.