Couples Therapy
Lenore has received extensive training and clinical experience in cutting-edge Couples Therapy techniques and strategies to help clients feel more connected, happy, and fulfilled in their relationships. Her style is warm, collaborative, compassionate, and solutions-focused. Lenore has trained at the Gottman Institute, NYU, and The Westchester Center for the Study of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy-Couples Therapy Program and Continuing Education programs through Harvard Medical School.
Learn More About Couples Therapy:
Marriage or couples counseling can initially sound uncomfortable, but it can be the only way to help couples resolve conflicts and strengthen their relationship. It is a way to help couples become “unstuck” and move forward in a more intentional and healthier direction.
Couples therapy is a process aimed at helping couples work through problems, understand their partners better, and develop healthier communication methods. As your therapist, I will draw from specific therapeutic techniques and interventions to guide and support you in reaching your unique goals as a couple.
Here are a few signs that may indicate that Couples Therapy could be helpful to your relationship:
- Having the same fight repeatedly and being unable to come up with a solution
- Disagreements about parenting, extended family, financial or lifestyle choices
- Arguments about unequal household responsibilities and unable to resolve these conflicts
- Losing sexual or romantic chemistry between one or both partners
- Feeling bored or like your marriage or relationship is on autopilot
- Feel “unheard” or like your partner is emotionally unavailable
- Feeling distant from your partner or distancing yourself from your partner
- Experienced a loss or tragedy and having difficulty processing the loss together
- Abusive behavior (physical or verbal) toward one another
- Dealing with substance abuse, infidelity, or mental health issues
- Managing life transitions (parenthood, job change, moving, empty nest, retirement)
- Presence of unprocessed past traumas that show up in your relationship
- Feeling too attached (codependency)
- Fighting over the care of elderly parents or special needs children
Maintaining and growing a relationship takes work. We need to invest time and energy to keep it going strong continually. Finding new ways to nurture or get the relationship back on track can be difficult.
All relationships hit rough patches at times and can benefit from couples counseling. We all want to feel loved, appreciated, and understood by our partners.
If your relationship feels off course or could use some fine-tuning, couples counseling can help.
Together, We Focus On:
Improving communication skills. One of the common problems in relationships is when one partner believes the other should be able to read their mind and know what they want or need from them. Communicating openly and clearly about your emotional needs is the key to enhancing your connection.
Understanding differences in communication styles. We all communicate differently, and your style may differ from your partner’s. Meeting your needs in the relationship may be challenging if you operate on different wavelengths. A therapist can work with you to recognize and overcome differences. They can help you better understand your partner from their perspective.
Discovering ways to argue constructively (rather than destructively). It’s OK for couples to discuss conflicts; in fact, it’s necessary. However, not controlling anger can lead to contempt, blaming, yelling, name-calling, and even physical abuse. There can be permanent damage when relationship conflict gets out of hand. In counseling, you can learn more productive ways to listen to one another and feel “heard.” Managing anger and engaging in effective time-out techniques can improve mutual understanding of feelings and lead to a deeper emotional connection.
Exploring underlying issues that may be negatively impacting the relationship. If one person in the relationship struggles emotionally, chances are their partner is experiencing their suffering. Talking through these issues and expressing empathy and understanding can strengthen emotional bonds and help heal a partner’s pain.
Finding new ways to build intimacy. After being together for a while, relationships may become stagnant and entrenched in routines and responsibilities. Having children may cause partners to view one another as “roommates” rather than romantic partners. Couples may begin to take things for granted and stop nurturing their relationship. A therapist can offer strategies for reconnecting emotionally and rekindling passion and connection.
Rebuilding trust in the relationship. If there has been a betrayal, and the couple wants to stay in the relationship, a counselor can help the couple heal from the trauma by exploring the underlying problems that may have contributed to the breakdown of the relationship. In couples therapy, partners can find a safe place to express their fears and concerns and work with the nonjudgmental therapist to repair trust.
Determining whether to stay in the relationship. Some challenges may be too overwhelming. Only your partner and you can decide if you can stay together. If both partners are willing to work at it, a therapist can help repair the wounds and help strengthen their connection. If one or both partners are determined to end the relationship, a counselor can help navigate a more peaceful breakup.