Marriage boot camp depicted by WeConcile Logo

Announcing WeConcile®: A Marriage Boot Camp

Over the years of working both as a therapist and a couples’ therapist I have come to believe that something more is needed to help all of us with our relationships.  Many of us just don’t have the skills we need. Therapy has limitations due to its cost, and many therapists, though effective with individuals, don’t have the specialized training needed to be effective when working with couples. The time constraints of people’s busy lives, and the stigma that therapy has for some also inhibit people seeking help. 

Read more »

Person and dog at beach depicting emotional health

Emotional Health & Emotionally Abusive Relationships

Emotions are intense.  They rock us.  We have to deal with them. Someone says something the wrong way, or we are in a difficult situation and all of a sudden we might find ourselves in a fury, or in deep grief, or perhaps an awful sense of embarrassment and shame as if we are ‘bad’.

When we are in these feeling places we usually don’t have any perspective or not much. 

Read more »

puzzle pieces depicting elements of emotionally focused therapy for couples

Using the Science of Love to Help Us With Our Couple’s Goals

Working with couples effectively means you understand the three dimensions of our relationships: Attachment, emotions and cycles.  Learn about what needs to be focused on to do effective couples work, or to work on your own relationship.

Read more »

goals for a marriage depicted by girl reading

Goals for a Marriage

Lets look at couple therapy, which is a pretty complex process.  As a client in couples therapy, we must learn enough about ourselves (among other things) so that we can untangle a bunch of behavior that simply does not get us what we want: an accessible and responsive relationship. We supply the courage and tenacity on the road to mastery of this challenge, but we need more than motivation, creativity and desire for this purpose. We also need a map.

Read more »

Sex in marriage - depicted by couple kissing

Who are you choosing as your parter? Becoming healthy to find a true love (that works)

(Permission by client granted; names and details changed.) Jill is a single and successful 34-year old female of mixed heritage who had been traumatized by being in a relationship with Greg, an alcoholic.  Jill wants to regain the self-respect that was destroyed by being in a relationship with an active alcoholic. She wants to be […]

Read more »

skills for resolving conflict depicted by couple holding hands

Short-term marriage counseling: from drinking & controlling to intimacy

SHORT TERM MARRIAGE COUNSELING: FROM DRINKING AND CONROLLING TO INTIMACY AND CONNECTION (Permission by client granted; names and details changed.) Jane, an attractive 48-year old and her husband of 9 years, Nick, 52, came into therapy because they wanted help to stop fighting so much, and they wanted to regain the joy that they once […]

Read more »

Calming down depicted by man on hilltop

Low self-esteem and depression: the benefits of facing self hate and moving into self love

Molly, 38 and single, entered therapy very depressed and hating herself. Her goals were to honor her own needs, be in a romantic relationship and feel more fulfilled at work. Although feeling desperate and as if she was beyond hope, Molly had nowhere else to turn. Growing up, Molly’s father was neglectful, abandoned the family, […]

Read more »

Therapy to heal trauma: moving from survival to trust and fulfillment

Therapy to heal trauma: moving from survival to trust and fulfillment

(Permission by client granted; names and details changed.) Sally, a married 46-year-old mother of 5, came into therapy overwhelmed with the demands of her life. She was in extreme emotional pain. Sally was distraught with grief due to witnessing her youngest child, Cindy, have a stroke and require multiple brain surgeries shortly after her birth. […]

Read more »