Therapy for Relationships

DO YOU WANT TO HAVE HEALTHIER ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS AND FRIENDSHIPS?

Do you feel like you keep making the same mistakes in your relationships? Are you choosing the wrong partners? Are you struggling to set boundaries with family members? Or maybe a coworker's upsetting you and you can't figure out how to successfully work with them? These are all normal, valid questions you may be asking yourself. Our relationships impact everything. The pressures of daily life today make it challenging to connect, date, and maintain healthy relationships with family, friends and even in the workplace. It's normal and healthy to want support in creating and maintaining healthy relationships.

Up to 56% of singles reported dating in 2023 feels harder than it ever has.  Furthermore, 66% of Americans work remote to some extent and 68% would prefer to be fully remote. While there are many benefits to working remote, the face to face connection is lacking which may be making in person connection feel stressful. Lastly, as of 2023, the divorce rate in the US for first time marriages is between 30%-50%. Now more than ever, having a relationship counselor can be a guiding light to heal, create and maintain secure relationships.

At some point, we all have struggles in our relationships. Whether in dating, our marriage, with a long time friend, or even trying to make friends in adulthood. These are all completely normal challenges and arise as part of being human. The great news is working on these things through relationship therapy with a compassionate, supportive relationship therapist can turn things around and have you feeling more secure.

There are a variety of reasons to see a relationship counselor and get relationship help . Examples of these include:

• Divorce or Breakup
• Wedding Stress
• Breaking Family Patterns or Cycles
• Infidelity on Either Side
• Codependency
• Family Conflict
• Coworker Conflict
• Friendship Conflict

By having a safe space to process, understand and learn tools to heal your relationship with yourself and others, you'll start to feel more aware and confident in your relationships. The term relationship is also a very broad term. Areas we may focus on in individual relationship therapy include familial relationships, friendships, romantic relationships and professional and work dynamics. Our attachment styles greatly impact how we connect with others. Secure, anxious, avoidant or anxious-avoidant (or disorganized) are different types of attachment styles and impact how we show up in our relationships. 

Attachment styles begin forming during your first two years of life meaning whether you like it or not, attachment is impacting you. Therapy is an excellent place to understand an potentially heal your attachment style. Part of being human means repeating cycles. The way we're raised, the connections we have, and any trauma we may experience all impacts how we connect with others. 

Part of working with a relationship counselor will include taking a look at your relationship history and identifying what you want to change. Developing boundaries, understanding your values, and learning tools for communication are just a few examples of tools you'll learn. 

Utilizing evidence based care in relationship therapy is crucial. I strive to utilize the most up to date treatment approaches when helping clients work toward healthier relationships. Some of these modalities include:

• The Gottman Method based techniques: Dr. John & Julia Gottman are frontrunners when it comes to research and tools for healthy relationships
• Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) based techniques focusing on recognizing emotions, how emotions lead to decision making and leaning into uncomfortable emotions
• Family Systems Therapy based techniques involve exploring family patterns, relationships and dynamics and understanding how they impact our relationships with self and others
• Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy  based techniques involved exploring and understanding belief systems and how these impact our relationships
• Mind Body Connection  based techniques involve recognizing how our bodies respond to emotional reactions and working to help both be in sync
• Self-Care Planning and Coping Tools involves creating a tailored, personal plan to help reduce stress, manage emotions and improve well-being

I have worked with folks around relationships in Denver for over ten years. Relationships are truly my passion and I knew from a young age when I was supporting friends and helping them navigate challenging situations with relationships that this was my calling. I understand how hard relationships can be but also the immense benefit of having healthy relationships. I consistently see folks evolve, change and maintain better relationships of all kinds when they commit to therapy for themselves. 

• What if therapy makes my relationships worse?  This is a common concern and understandably so. Relationship therapy involves digging deep, understanding where things are going wrong and working to find the best solution. My job is to empower you in your relationships to find the best solutions for yourself and to make sure you feel confident in the path you choose. 

• What if I realize I need to end a relationship? (Partner, Marriage, Friendship, co-working relationship, etc.)  I'm not going to lie to you - sometimes this is a result of therapy because you may come to the conclusion someone is no longer a healthy fit for you. This doesn't necessarily mean they need to be removed completely but boundaries may be put in place or time spent may be reduced. I encourage folks to have an openness to exploring what is going to lead them to live their healthiest life and sometimes this means change. Change can of course feel intimidating and my job is to help you feel like your strongest, surest self.

• Can therapy for relationships actually help me have better relationships?  I have seen folks make changes on small levels up to large levels in their relationships and live happier, healthier, more fulfilled lives time and time again. Processing family patterns, understanding how to set boundaries and learning tools for communication will ultimately improve your relationship with yourself. Therapy offers a safe, neutral space where healing can occur. 

There's a feeling you start to get when your relationships feel more secure. The way you talk, physically carry yourself and even respond will feel stronger. Examples of work with previous clients include:

• A client in their 40s who works for a Fortune 500 tech company has created firm boundaries in the workplace allowing their career to excel
• A client in their 20s learned to navigate dating, stand up for themselves, and is now in a healthy, supportive relationship
• A client in their 30s learned how to let go of negative familial relationships which were causing them harm and is now able to better connect with their own children
• A client in their early 20s learned their attachment style and value system leading them to end their romantic relationship and focus on their own growth