Our therapists provide couples therapy in Cherry Hill, NJ

My go-to approach for helping people in couples/marriage counseling is emotionally focused therapy (EFT) and solution-focused therapy. EFT can help identify destructive patterns in a relationship that begin to interfere with attachments and ultimately prevent two people from bonding. Solution-focused therapy works best for couples who have a specific issue they want to work on in their relationship. The approach is helpful when working towards a short-term relationship goal.

These are some of the tools that I teach in couples/marriage counseling:

• Interpersonal skills: The ability to effectively communicate feelings and thoughts.
• Conflict resolution skills: Identifying ways to resolve arguments without yelling and displaying other destructive behavior.
• Rules of engagement: Therapists aid couples in identifying rules and implementing techniques that will assist couples in keeping conversations on track without either of them going off-topic.
• TTD method: Tone, technique, and delivery. The therapist teaches the couple the importance of their tone and word choice.

I know a client is making meaningful progress in couples/marriage counseling when there is a decrease in re-occurring arguments and the couple is able to resolve conflicts by effectively using techniques learned in couples therapy sessions. A couple's emotional intimacy often increases as well (spending more time together, understanding each other's love language, and prioritizing partner's feelings).

I provide clients with worksheets and homework. This allows clients to reinforce the skills that they learned and spend time discussing areas that need improvement in their relationship.

I encourage couples to identify goals that they want to accomplish before starting couples/marriage counseling. It is important that couples have a clear idea of what they want to accomplish before starting couples therapy. It is also beneficial for each partner to be willing to participate in couples therapy. It is difficult if one partner is willing and the other partner feels pressured or forced to start couples therapy.