Couples Counseling in Portland, Oregon

Being in an intimate relationship can be one of the most deeply rewarding and fulfilling experiences that life can offer. But when faced with relationship challenges, you and your partner may experience more pain and frustration than joy and closeness.

You know how painful it can be when you and your partner are experiencing:

• Fights, arguments, and power struggles
• Emotional distance and coldness
• Lack of intimacy and affection
• Diminished sex life
• Anger, resentment, and distrust
• Lack of appreciation for each other
• Blaming and defensiveness
• Issues around infidelity and betrayal

Not knowing how to handle these types of challenges is not only deeply frustrating, but can also intensify and prolong your relationship problems.

The early phases of a relationship are often joyful, captivating, and harmonious. As your relationship progresses though, it becomes increasingly more important to understand how to support the positive aspects of your relationship as well as how to successfully navigate the challenges.

If you are like many couples, your relationship problems stem from not knowing what does and does not work to support a healthy, fulfilling relationship. The couples counseling that I do helps you and your partner to:

• Understand each other better
• Develop new tools so you can communicate effectively
• Learn how to resolve conflict on your own
• Increase intimacy and decrease isolation from each other
• Learn how to turn destructive arguments into constructive conversations
• Overcome blame and start working together
• Learn ways that you can make a positive impact on your partner
• Develop greater trust and support
• Eliminate negative relationship patterns (i.e., jealousy, control, fear of rejection)

Couples counseling offers an opportunity to explore two important areas of your relationship:

1. What supports a healthy relationship - by learning about the skills and behaviors that support your relationship, you can increase these positive patterns, helping to strengthen the foundation and future of your relationship.
2. What creates problems in your relationship by identifying the interactions, habits, and behaviors that create friction and distance in your relationship, you can find new, healthy ways of interacting with each other.

Imagine what your relationship would be like if you and your partner experienced:

• More love and happiness
• Deeply meaningful and enjoyable interactions
• More intimacy, affection, and sexuality
• Increased trust and acceptance for each other
• Healthy and effective communication
• Greater attentiveness toward each other
• A healthy balance of independence and connection

Couples counseling provides a safe environment to explore the challenges that you and your partner face. As you develop greater communication skills, start to truly understand (and feel understood by) your partner, and begin to recognize the impact you have on your partner, positive changes can take place and your relationship can transform.

Couples counseling can be a very empowering process that gives you and your partner a sense of command over your relationship and brings back the enjoyment that initially brought you together.