Great Couples Counseling in Irondale, GA. Therapy to heal relationships.

Relationships take work, commitment, sacrifice, communication, and compromise. None of this is easy! And when you and your partner don't see eye to eye or have differing values, this becomes even more stressful and frustrating. I can help facilitate open communication between you and your partner to help you understand the root of your problems, how they are negatively affecting your relationship, and how to work through and resolve them. It's a process and takes time, but worth the effort if the relationship is important to you.

Many people secretly believe that their opinion is always "right." Then they enter into a relationship and this deep-seated belief is challenged by a partner or spouse who also secretly believes that his/her opinion is always right. This causes major problems. That's where therapy comes into play. I believe that the bedrock of couples counseling is clear and effective communication. For some odd reason, it seems as though communication is a lost art, leaving couples feeling frustrated and alone. People feel as though they're not being heard and their needs aren't being met. I help couples understand each other deeply and articulate their feelings to one another effectively.

The work I do with couples involves a Christian and Biblical foundation. Prayer and Scripture are important parts of the process. I incorporate various books and workbooks written by Christian authors, including The Love Dare and The 5 Love Languages, among others. Most recently, I've started using a protocol developed by Les and Leslie Parrott called, "SYMBIS".

Summer is a Certified Imago Relationship Therapist (CIRT) and a member of Georgia Regional Imago Therapists (GRITS). Imago, which is the Latin word for image, is a highly effective method of couples' counseling. Summer is passionate about helping couples restore and improve their connection to one another, especially challenging in times of transition or crisis. A healthy marriage is what we envision when we get married, but too often we don't get the help we need when we are stuck in unhealthy patterns of relating. Or, just as often, unhealthy patterns of not relating. Summer encourages couples to reconnect in therapy, providing a safe, compassionate and challenging place to do this.

In working with couples, I encourage each partner to stop blaming, understand how they are being triggered by each other, learn how to stop arguing, and most importantly, how to hold onto their individuality while staying lovingly connected to each other. I also specialize in divorce support and recovery therapy when it has been determined by you and/or your partner that the relationship/marriage is over.

Relationships can be beautiful but they take work from both parties. Trust, openness, respect, transparency and building healthy communication skills are very important. Sometimes we lose communication somewhere along the way and having a mediator to help both parties see the other persons point of view and hold each one accountable on next steps in the healing process can be very helpful to reconnect and bond your relationship again.

I enjoy helping couples stay married when at all possible. Relationships take self-awareness, compromise and a shared vision. To often people rush into marriage without really knowing each other and then discover along the way that they only have 80% of what they want instead of celebrating the 80% they focus on the 20% they don't have. Understanding each others differences and limitations will help you navigate a healthy marriage. Shame and guilt are very destructive. Learning how to forgive yourself and move forward by processing your past relationships can help you understand your present relationship. This can be very important in stopping the cycle of dysfunctional relationships.

What are the most common couples' issues? If you are thinking "communication, conflict, sex, money, child rearing" you are correct. However, most therapists will go after the symptom on each side of the couple fence thinking that the way to effective change is by getting each party to "work" on their respective "issue". Many times the parties don’t agree but comply. Imagine if you could align the unconscious brains of a couple and stop the "working on your issues" part that has become so popular in therapy settings? Contact kevin@kevinflemingphd.com to learn how! Or call 877-606-6161. DR. FLEMING'S NEW RELATIONSHIP/COUPLES INTENSIVES. www.kevinflemingphd.com/marriage-couples-retreats.php