Marriage Counseling

Marriage Counseling in Huntington, NY

marriage counseling in Huntington, NY Relationships make us human. We strive on a variety of levels for companionship and intimacy with a life partner. Inevitably, over time, conflicts arise which can intensify and interfere with the stability of the marriage. It is critical to recognize the nature and extent of these issues in order to assess whether they may continue to negatively impact the relationship. When the couple feels the need for professional assistance, couple & marital psychotherapy may be helpful.

The purpose and scope of treatment for the couple is to be determined during an initial consultation. I generally work with the couple on the relational issue which often underlies the presenting problem. This is not meant to minimize the conflict which brings the couple into treatment. I often find the couple will improve their level of relating and communicating with each other with continued couple therapy following the resolution of the presenting conflict.

Trust, in one form or another, is usually a fundamental issue when a couple enters marriage counseling or marital therapy. There may be current behaviors which contribute to these concerns or there may be less obvious relational trust issues which may exist below the surface and are largely unconscious but profoundly affects the level of relational trust. Both levels of mistrust need to be addressed in marriage counseling or couple therapy with a mental health professional.

There are marriages which may require individual psychotherapy for one or both spouses. If there is evidence of substance abuse, addiction, betrayal, or any behavior which could represent a marital rupture, I customarily refer to a colleague as it is, in my professional opinion, too complex a therapeutic task to work effectively with individuals while working with the marriage/couple unit. For couple therapy to be successful, the dyad must be treated as a separate entity. This does not by any means negate the importance of the two individuals. In fact, the exploration and enhanced awareness of the individual through personal psychotherapy will only improve the overall functioning of a fundamentally healthy relationship.

Couple and marital therapy can provide a qualitative positive change in the nature and experience of each person in the marriage. Although discord in the relationship initially brings a couple into therapy, the opportunities exist to improve the overall functioning of the marital unit.