Relationship counseling

Meaningful, loving, long-term relationships offer us closeness, emotional safety, and sometimes, economic advantages. Strong relationships are based on mutual regard and good emotional management skills. They require creative, healthy, self reliant persons. Without careful attention to the big issues and small changes in the relationship, its foundation can soon crumble.

Problems in a relationship affect everything from family to work to physical and emotional health but most relationships will at some point face a host of problems, to name just a few: Caring for a new baby, loss of interest in sex and romance, home foreclosure, and LGBTI issues.

You may have other concerns: health problems, retirement, struggles with depression and anxiety, job loss/work identity, recovering from infidelity and caring for aging parents. All relationships face the many smaller estrangements that are often the result of unmet expectations.

I provide specific techniques for reconnection that include:

  • Healing past resentment;
  • Non-defensive listening skills;
  • Anger management;
  • Expressing feelings constructively;
  • Resolving conflicts peacefully;
  • Sharing responsibilities cooperatively;
  • Sexuality education.

I have also found that developing specific rituals can be very effective in rebuilding damaged relationships. In ritual, we combine intellectual analysis of difficult issues with sensate, creative experiences to create a holistic Gestalt for healing.

Books I recommend: