Great Couples Counseling in Riverside, MD. Therapy to heal relationships.

My work with couples revolves around parenting and management of symptoms in their children. I do not provide traditional couples or marriage therapy. Most of my work with parents involves supporting them while they help their children navigate challenging circumstances or symptoms. This can include behavioral concerns, sleep problems, managing medical conditions, and childhood mood symptoms.

There are two most basic fears of intimacy that we all have: one is fear of abandonment, the other is fear of being taken over, of losing my autonomy. In a relationship, people often become polarized with one clinging and the other seeming distant. With awareness of our fears and how to take care of ourselves and each other, we will bring out the best in each other. Everyone knows how to speak and listen, right? Not so. The most difficult skills to learn are to speak self-responsibly about your own experience and to truly listen and understand the other person's experience even when you don't like it. To learn these skills enables love. I can help.

The first kiss, the fun in the flirtation and the comfort of a warm hug from a partner gives us hope in the couples relationship. But, being in a couple (either heterosexual or homosexual) is HARD. We strive to get our needs met, be heard and find balance in the relationship. Many couples find that when their kids leave the home that their connection has suffered. Often it just takes an unbiased person to help maneuver through that age old argument or the newest wound. I have worked with many couples who have rediscovered their passion and realized how much they not only love each other, but really like each other as well.

Couples therapy can be like inviting someone into your “home,” the special relational zone that you share with your significant other. Teletherapy can offer further enrichment to the therapeutic process, in addition to convenience factors. I strive to maintain a neutral and gentle perspective, helping you each observe and better manage your relational patterns of communion or disconnect. I can adapt my style to help you learn and practice new ways to empathize with your partner’s perspective, communicate effectively, resolve conflict and enjoy healthy connected-ness. I use tools such as the Myers-Briggs temperament styles, IMAGO techniques, and the Prepare-Enrich assessment survey.