RELATIONSHIP COUNSELING
Is Individual Relationship Counseling For You?
Do you have a partner who is insecure or jealous and needs constant reassurance from you? Do you or your partner have anger or trust issues that are difficult to manage? Are you reluctant to come home after a long day at work, expecting that there will be conflict? Perhaps you wish your partner had a compatible sex drive or was more emotionally accessible. It could even be that your relationship has become abusive, but you are too afraid to do anything about it.
All of us come from different families, with unique backgrounds. We tend to be attracted to the familiar, and we tend to function the way we did in our own families, based on formative experiences. Even in relationships where partners share similar backgrounds, there are often dissimilarities that can complicate communication and make you question your compatibility or the importance of compatibility.
Many couples also struggle with self-esteem issues. Occasionally, this means a person may choose partners based on what they believe they “deserve.” In such cases, you may be asking yourself why you attract “bad” partners and stay in “bad” relationships while at the same time believing you don’t deserve to feel safe and cherished in a relationship.
Would you like to improve your self-esteem and confidence while learning how to improve communication skills that can resolve conflict and increase your level of intimacy?
It’s Okay To Seek Therapy for a Better Relationship!
If you are seeking help for relationship problems, you are not alone. Many of us know what it’s like to experience conflict in a relationship. In some cases, we can get stuck in unhealthy relationships—even abusive ones. And although it seems we should naturally have the knowledge to repair our relationships ourselves, navigating conflict and compatibility issues can be challenging to manage alone.
Even if your problems are mild or you seek relationship therapy as a preventive measure, you are certainly not alone in the desire to have a stronger relationship. Like many individuals, you are likely a person with a lot to offer; but sometimes your partner might feel like you continually fail to meet their needs. You may want to preserve a promising relationship you are currently in or to course-correct a partnership that threatens to go off the rails.
More than anything, you likely seek to understand and be understood by your partner. It’s normal to want that and very understandable to be concerned that you or your partner are missing the mark as supporters and communicators.
It’s also natural for some of us to struggle with this notion: Should we stay and work on the relationship despite its problems, or should we leave and seek time alone (or a more compatible partnership)?
Fortunately, you don’t have to work through this alone. I am here for you, ready to provide guidance and support as you navigate any current or future difficulties.
Relationship Counseling Can Help You Become More In Tune With Your Partner
Therapy allows you the chance to get to the core of your relationship problems and explore what you and your partner truly need to be happy. The more you can focus on the relationship’s dynamics and communication challenges, rather than assign individual blame, the better chance you have of being successful and happy. Therapy gives you the space to identify and alter problematic behavioral patterns so you can promote your personal healing process and/or reconnect with your partner.
I provide a safe, nonjudgmental, and empowering space for you to learn about yourself and to develop strategies for resolving conflict and overcoming communication difficulties. In our initial sessions, we will gently explore early relational experiences and patterns that may be holding you back as a partner.
We’ll work on recognizing expectations for the relationship with a focus on setting healthy relationship boundaries so that you can have your own needs met. We’ll look at compatibility issues and assess what is working in your relationship and what is not. By identifying and working on the differences in personalities and expectations for the partnership, you can cultivate successful communication and mutual support in your relationship.
I understand that relationship issues affect everyone differently. So, whether you’re stuck in a problematic relationship, trying to repair a partnership or looking for the confidence to make new connections, I can help.
As a psychotherapist who focuses on relationship problems, I can also provide compassionate guidance and support as you decide if moving on, or staying and working things out, is the best approach to your current relationship. Even if your present relationship isn’t meant to be permanent, I can help provide the insight you need to be more successful in choosing and maintaining a future relationship that will flourish.
With my help and support, you can develop the awareness and skills needed to navigate current and future relationship challenges.
My psychoanalytic approach, practiced in a safe, compassionate, and welcoming environment, will help you make personal discoveries and help you gain understanding of lifelong patterns that may be affecting your current relationship. With that in mind, we can work toward a brighter future where healthy communication and solid choices are the norm for you, in a context of self-love, self-worth, and undistorted self-reflection.
You may be hesitant about seeking relationship counseling for yourself because…
I am just a broken and defective person who doesn’t deserve to be happy with a partner.
On some level, I believe that many of us struggle with the duality of wanting to find a good partner and believing we don’t deserve one. This is self-contradictory, but too often true. Individuals frequently have distorted perceptions of themselves that influence their behaviors, but this is part of a larger problem of self-acceptance. With my assistance in therapy, I will help you see that you deserve and are worthy of love. Self-love is key to being able to receive love, and I have the training and experience, as well as the compassion and understanding to help you understand possible distortions in your self-perception, that detrimentally impact your self-worth.
I want to leave this relationship, but for some reason I stay. I picture a different partner who I have more in common with, but it seems easier and safer to remain with my current partner.
Relationship counseling can help you decide whether your relationship is worth saving or if there is a dynamic that can be improved upon. By learning how to manage complex feelings toward yourself and your partner ensures that even if you have to end your current relationship, you have the resources and awareness to avoid similar issues in future relationships. Even if your relationship has run its course, I can help you end your relationship in a way that is respectful and healthy.
Relationship Therapy Can Help You Be a Happy and Successful Partner
To schedule a consultation, contact me at 646-883-8063 or by filling out the form under “contact me.” My office is conveniently located in midtown Manhattan and very accessible by subway or other means. I look forward to working with you as you seek a more successful relationship.