Couples therapy - build a foundation of security
and trust in your relationship. Feel prioritized, connected, and at ease
in your lives together
Couples Therapy and Marriage Counseling Online
Have you been feeling misunderstood and unappreciated by your partner lately?
Do you feel increasingly distant and alone?
Or, perhaps you are tired of feeling frustrated and emotionally drained by disagreements that never seem to reach resolution?
It may seem like you’re walking on eggshells when you’re with your partner, and you no longer feel like a united, supportive team. Or, maybe a prolonged period of stress or a life-altering event, such as a job change, new living situation, or birth of a child has brought more conflict and uncertainty to the surface. These are common relationship challenges that can prevent a couple from expressing the care and sensitivity that created your peak of love.
Together in couples therapy, our team will help you and your partner learn to openly express your needs and emotions while feeling heard and accepted.
In touch with our wholeness, with a heart filled with love, there is no such thing as a stranger, not in ourselves or in others.
-Sharon Salzberg
Many Couples Face Challenges
Maintaining a fulfilling intimate relationship is at times an incredibly complicated and demanding undertaking. Despite the breathtaking love stories we encounter in movies and books, the truth is that a relationship doesn’t simply “work out” because you and your partner love each other. Just as a person can’t be an expert guitar player simply because he or she deeply loves music, neither can a person expect to be skilled in a relationship simply because he or she loves his or her romantic partner. Loving another is an incredibly fine-tuned art and skill that requires continuous learning and practice.
Couples Therapy - Reignite the Sparks That First United You
It is common to blame ourselves or our partners for ongoing relationship challenges. But with help and support, you will come to see that the real blame lies not in any one person, but in unrecognized interaction patterns that are difficult to see. Once these patterns are clearly identified and transformed, you will experience increased connection and commitment, now and over the long-term. As a skilled couple’s counselors, it’s our job to help you overcome harmful interaction patterns that keep your relationship in conflict.
We’ll help you reignite the feelings of admiration and excitement that first drew you and your partner together. And we’ll teach you the skills you need to engage with the present moment, clarify your experiences together, and restore calm when emotions run high.
Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples
In our work together, we’ll use evidence-based techniques from Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT) to help you reestablish the close emotional and physical bond that shaped your cherished union together. EFT is supported by 30 years of rigorous research studies and based on “the most articulated, comprehensive, and extremely well researched understanding of adult love” (Johnson, 2015). Through EFT Therapy, we will bring increased awareness to unmet emotional needs that you can’t quite find the words for on your own.
In couples therapy sessions, we’ll help you directly experience what it is like to resonate fully with each other’s feelings and needs. And, we’ll help you develop the emotional intelligence and effective communication skills needed to navigate through future challenges on your own, as a loving, united team.
Rekindling a loving and sustained commitment with your partner is likely to be the most rewarding investment of time and money you could make. When your intimate relationship is secure and mutually nurturing, you can enjoy increases in mood and energy, become more resilient in the face of life challenges, and feel more confident in your ability to take risks.
Free Phone Consultation
Berkeley Couples Therapists (online): We know how important it is for you to choose a therapist with whom you feel comfortable talking with, so we invite you to book a free, 20-minute phone consultation: here. Or, contact us directly to schedule a time, or to ask questions: admin@windingriverpsychotherapyservices.com/ 510-761-9818.
Frequently Asked Questions About Couples Counseling
How can a stranger help us with these personal issues?
It’s normal to feel concerned about meeting with a stranger and revealing private details about your intimate relationship. However, the beauty of couples counseling is that it provides a safe and confidential space where your unique challenges will be met with compassion and expert facilitation of communication. Unlike most friends or family members, we will be objective and understanding. our experience as counselors has made us proficient at recognizing the unique issues clients face, and has taught me to tailor treatment strategies that work.
Will you take sides in sessions?
One of our main objectives is to be fair and unbiased, and to encourage immediate feedback from you whenever you feel we don’t hold true to this commitment. Our job is to be patient and fully understand the complexity of the problems in your relationship. After our initial sessions, we will see that no one partner is to blame. Instead, we will see that there are hidden interactive patterns in your relationship that are very hard to recognize on your own. These patterns are the real problem, and significantly harm your relationship. Therapy offers you a chance to tackle that problem as a team.
Our relationship problems are already so difficult. Is it possible couples therapy will make matters worse?
We take responsibility to ensure sessions are not overwhelmed by conflict and arguing, and instead focus on emotional healing and new communication skills. Therapy is best when it identifies qualities about the relationship that already work well, and harnesses those strengths even further. And, although not all couples decide to stay together, almost all of them leave therapy with increased feelings of peace and understanding.
Rest assured knowing that our therapeutic approach is backed by rigorous research that we directly incorporate into our work together. No matter what you are going through, it is possible for you to foster increased connection and intimacy in your partnership.
We invite you to call (510) 761-9818 for a free, 20-minute phone consultation.