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686,000 people sought help with Thriveworks in the last year

Discover how starting therapy with a couples/marriage can support your own journey toward a happier, more fulfilling life.

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Stacey Gray

Hear from Stacey Gray, Licensed Clinical Social Worker - Certified (LCSW-Certified)

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What is your go-to approach for couples/marriage counseling?

When helping couples in counseling, I find the best benefit in helping the couples recognize that the relationship is actually the client, and that the goal of counseling is to improve the relationship as a whole, not one particular individual.

What tools do you teach in couples/marriage counseling?

When working with couples in counseling, I prefer to use some of Gottman's techniques as well as teaching communication strategies. When working with couples, I have often used the analogy of the “dance” of a relationship. It takes two people to learn new skills and “steps” to be able to work more effectively together. I focus on how each individual has their own separate role in helping improve the relationship and ultimately the outcome.

How do you know when a client is making meaningful progress in couples/marriage counseling?

When working with couples, I can tell that the clients are making meaningful progress when they are both able to provide examples of the progress each one is individually making with changing behaviors. Having the couples provide examples of what had been helpful and where they need to continue to grow as a couple is another way of assessing overall progress.

What can clients do in their personal time to supplement couples/marriage counseling?

It is important for couples to spend time together, intentionally connecting emotionally outside of therapy sessions. I recommend to many of the couples I have worked with that monthly dates as well as intentional time at least once a week, checking in with each other emotionally, is an important part of ongoing progress.

What should someone do to prepare for starting couples/marriage counseling?

To prepare for the first couple's counseling session, I suggest the client prepare a few notes about what is most important to them and what they want to get out of couples counseling. It is also important to remember that the couple's session is about helping the two individuals work together more effectively and not “fix” their partner.

Starting Couples/marriage therapy

Need more help deciding?

Marriage Counseling and Couples Therapy—Relationship Help in Nottingham, MD

Our significant others are the people that we choose to experience life with. These are the people that we share in our happiness, our excitement, our accomplishments. If we’re being real, these are also the people we fight with the most and even despise sometimes, too. Because nobody’s experience in life is all good—as we well know, there are both ups and downs. The special thing is that sometimes it’s the tough stuff that ends up bringing us closer together. Now, that’s not to say that working through the tough stuff is a piece of cake. Settling arguments and resolving other challenges can be difficult. And sometimes, it takes the help of a marriage counselor or couples therapist.

If you believe that your relationship could benefit from marriage counseling or couples therapy, reach out to Thriveworks Counseling in Nottingham, MD. Our office is located in the White Marsh area, and our team would love to meet with you. We have both in-person and online counseling appointments available, please choose whatever works best for you.

How Do Marriage Counseling and Couples Therapy Work?

Couples therapy and marriage counseling are virtually the same thing. Marriage counseling, though, can better describe this journey for married couples! That said, both of these therapies are designed to help couples work through their problems and strengthen their relationship. Now, therapy often looks different for every couple. This is because couples therapists and marriage counselors design the journey around what that couples needs or hopes to achieve:

  1. Specific needs: As we just said, therapists design treatment around what the given couple needs! This might mean addressing trust issues for one couple and improving communication for another.
  2. Unique goals: In addition, couples bring unique goals to counseling that are specific to their relationship. This might mean better understanding each other’s needs for one couple and improving intimacy for another!

As you can probably tell, our needs and our goals go hand in hand. They are both important, and your couples therapist or marriage counselor will be sure to treat them as such when they design a plan for treatment.

Does Relationship Counseling Really Work?

Some couples are hesitant to begin couples therapy because they doubt the process. They wonder if it truly works. We’ve seen the benefits that our clients find in couples therapy and marriage counseling, but you don’t have to take our word for it. 525+ couples were asked about their experiences in couples therapy, and here’s what they had to say:

  • 1% reported having excellent or good experience in couples therapy
  • 4% reported feeling satisfied with the relationship help that they received
  • 1% reported getting the help that they were looking for

If you feel encouraged and empowered to discover your own benefits in couples therapy, reach out to us at Thriveworks Counseling. We can set you up with one of our skilled and compassionate relationship experts right away.

Do Our Issues Warrant Couples Therapy?

Here’s the thing: Any couple can pursue couples therapy. There are no requirements that they must meet before they can schedule an appointment with a couples therapist. On that note, you don’t have to be struggling with super challenging issues to receive or benefit from therapy. Couples on both sides of the aisle—those with severe issues and those with small areas they’d like to improve—can find value in couples therapy.

Schedule Marriage Counseling or Couples Therapy at Thriveworks Counseling in Nottingham

If you and your partner are in Nottingham, or more specifically the White Marsh area, consider reaching out to Thriveworks Counseling. We can help you work through your specific challenges and/or reach your unique goals for your relationship. We can provide this help onsite as well as online. Choose whatever works best for you two! To schedule, just give us a call or visit our online booking page.

Pricing & insurance

Our therapists accept most major insurances. We accept 585+ insurance plans, and offer self-pay options, too.
Learn more about pricing for therapy and counseling services at Thriveworks.

Our Nottingham therapists and counselors accept 23 insurance plans

  • Aetna

  • Blue Cross Blue Shield | Anthem (Blue Card)

  • CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Maryland | BCBS HMO

  • CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Maryland | BCBS PPO

  • Carelon

  • Cigna | Evernorth

  • Cigna | Evernorth EAP

  • Cigna | Evernorth Medicare Advantage

  • Compsych

  • First Health Network

  • Humana Exchange

  • Humana HMO/POS

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Self-pay costs at Nottingham
Talk therapy

Talk therapy

Includes individual, couples, child/ teen, & family therapy

First session

$1

Ongoing sessions

$1

Talk therapy

Psychiatry

Includes reducing symptoms with medication & management

First session

$1

Ongoing sessions

$1

Hear from our clients

3.0 Learn about verified reviews
★★★☆☆
I tried to call billing; I missed an evening telehealth appointment because of a widespread power outage from the massive storms of 1/9/2024. Offshore personnel had no idea what I was talking about; they said they were in the Phillippines, and in addition the language barrier was quite severe. Health professionals here are wonderful to work with; however, technical or financial issues are difficult to straighten out. I gave up and will just deal with the treating persons here.
Read more I tried to call billing; I missed an evening telehealth appointment because of a widespread power outage from the massive storms of 1/9/2024. Offshore personnel had no idea what I was talking about; they said they were in the Phillippines, and in addition the language barrier was quite severe. Health professionals here are wonderful to work with; however, technical or financial issues are difficult to straighten out. I gave up and will just deal with the treating persons here.
Theresa Jan 2024
Thriveworks.com verified review

Where to find us

Getting here

Thriveworks Counseling & Psychiatry Nottingham is off of Belair Road and Blakely Avenue. We share a space with Driscoll Tax Group and are down the road from Wells Fargo and Chick-fil-A.

Phone number

(410) 862-4262

Languages spoken by MD providers

  • Cantonese
  • English
  • Mandarin
Sunday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Monday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Tuesday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Wednesday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Thursday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Friday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Saturday 8:00am - 9:00pm

Shown in ET

Sunday 8:00am - 5:00pm
Monday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Tuesday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Wednesday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Thursday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Friday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Saturday 7:00am - 6:00pm

Shown in ET

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