Couples Counseling
Couples therapy at RCBM is a collaborative process designed to help partners build stronger, healthier relationships. Whether you're facing specific challenges or simply looking to enhance your connection, RCBM’s couples therapists offer a supportive environment for partners to learn how to engage with each other more effectively. You and your partner will learn to identify unhelpful communication patterns, recognize how you trigger one another, and develop strategies to manage negative emotions. Committing to couples therapy is a courageous step toward healing, growth, and creating the kind of relationship you both desire. Whether you're experiencing high conflict, feeling emotionally distant, or simply want to fine-tune your connection, couples therapy can be a powerful and effective resource for lasting relationship health.
Who is couples therapy for?
Couples therapy can be suitable for any relationship. It’s most common for married partners to seek couples therapy, but it can help improve any relationship. Relationships between parents and children, siblings, co-workers, friends, and relatives can all be improved through couples therapy.
What can we expect in couples counseling?
For couples counseling to be effective, it’s essential that each person be willing to look at their contribution to the dysfunction between them. Although it is common for each member of the dyad to build a strong case for why the other person should change, for any relationship to improve, it’s imperative that each person focus on what they can do differently to build a more respectful and satisfying relationship.
How can we get the most out of couples counseling?
It’s crucial for the success of therapy that each person consider what they hope to accomplish in each session and actively choose a focus for the day. It is helpful when each person reflects on the outcome they desire from each session. To help you better understand our approach to working with couples, we have created this document to provide some insight into what you can expect during our work together. In addition, here is a recommended reading list for couples.
FAQs
What are some typical areas to focus on in a couple’s therapy session?
- What would you like to be experiencing that you aren’t experiencing now?
- What are you longing for in this relationship?
- What is most distressing about your interaction?
- In what ways would you like your relationship to be different?
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What is the number one presenting problem in couples counseling?
Communication is the number one presenting problem in couples counseling, followed closely by lack of connection and feeling unseen.
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How will couples therapy assist us in communicating more effectively?
Throughout couples therapy, you will learn how to incorporate the following strategies when engaging in difficult conversations
- Active listening
- Using “I” statements
- Paying attention to nonverbal cues
- Remaining curious
- Displaying empathy
- Staying open
- Willingness to compromise
- Recognize triggers
- Emotional regulation
- Uncovering vulnerability
- Taking time-outs
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What can we expect during the first few sessions of couples therapy?
The first few sessions will involve gathering background information, highlighting relationship concerns, and expectations for future treatment. You and your partner will meet together for session one. Then, each of you will meet individually. You will come back together for session four at which time goals will be discussed and a treatment plan formalized.
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Why is it recommended that each of us be in our own individual therapy while attending couples therapy?
Over the course of couples counseling, partners will discover unique sensitivities, or triggers, that, when activated, impede healthy communication. Once these triggers are illuminated, partners can explore them more deeply with their individual therapist. As a result, partners gain a heightened understanding of their internal world, learn self-regulation strategies, and come to understand when and why their triggers get activated. These skills help support and expedite the work being done in couples therapy.
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How do we get started in couples counseling?
If you are a current patient at RCBM, don't hesitate to contact our office at (248) 608-8800. If you are new to RCBM, please complete the new patient registration form. Once you submit the form, we will match you with one of our qualified therapists.
Please note that individuals must be residents of Michigan. We are committed to helping you and look forward to working with you.
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Marni Stone, LMSW, is a graduate of the Couples Institute. In this video, she discusses how she can help couples and families with communication skills, coping techniques, patterns of interaction, and other important areas of stress.
Meet the Providers Who Offer Care for Couples Counseling
Marni Stone, LMSW
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Amy Karwowski, LMSW
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Angela Eddy, MA, LPC, NCC
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Ashley Crowder, LPC
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Aundreah Walenski-Geml, LMSW
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David Price, MA, LPC, CAADC
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Jennifer Lindsey, LMSW
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Kaca Popovic, MA, LPC
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Karolina Redziniak, MA, LLP
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Katherine Huyghe, LMSW (formerly Tessmar)
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Kelly Dahl, LMSW
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Lisa Robinson, MA, LPC, CAADC
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Matthew Barsenas, LMSW, JD
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