Great Couples Counseling in South Waverly, PA. Therapy to heal relationships.

Relationships can be difficult and challenging yet they present enormous opportunities for growth. As M Scott Peck wrote in The Road Less Traveled, “love is not effortless, to the contrary, love Is effortful”. Rather than Hollywood and media notions of perfect romance, most enduring relationships are made of intentional commitment, respect and ongoing efforts to communicate. Clients find that couples counseling can provide a safe space with a neutral third party who can facilitate constructive conversations to work through difficult issues and patterns, and learn new strategies to increase mutual understanding and the ability to compromise.

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.

There are countless models of healthy romantic relationships, from monogamous to polyamorous, and unique variations between partners. The scripts for dating and longterm relationships of our parents’ generations may not be applicable to your relationship, and there is no formal education in how to be a good partner or how to identify unhealthy relationships. But there is psychological research that shows that effective communication, emotional openness, intimacy, and other factors contribute to healthy relationships. Creating these conditions are skills that can be learned. I practice brief humanistic and emotion-focused therapy (EFT) to help my LGBTQ and hetero clients learn these skills.

When our relationships are suffering, it causes a ripple effect on our own mental health, and the health of the family overall. Couples counseling starts with a safe environment. This is achieved by teaching effective communication skills, helping to set boundaries and encouraging breaks. Relationships can be hard, as we as individuals - and our lives - change over the course of our relationships. We may need to relearn how to meet each other's needs. This may include understanding and responding to your partner's love language, and learning new ways to nurture your relationship, with the goal of ultimately feeling more connected.

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