Tired Of Playing The Blame Game In Your Relationship?

Have you and your partner encountered some bumps in the road? Are you struggling through disconnect, conflict, and a lack of intimacy? Could you and your significant other remix tracks with all of the broken record conversations you’ve been having?

As individuals, we’re by no means perfect—so we shouldn’t expect our relationships to be either. But experiencing gridlock and disagreement with a partner is nevertheless draining. And whether we’re navigating new territory as a couple or worried that a long-term marriage is hanging by a thread, the outside perspective of a therapist can help any relationship get back on track. 

Common Relationship Hurdles

Every new chapter of a relationship presents its challenges. You may be in the early stages of a budding romance and looking to bolster communication or avoid unhelpful relationship patterns from your past. Perhaps you and your partner are on the verge of making a big decision together—which may include issues of finances, having kids, or opening up the relationship—and you need guidance on how to strategize as a team. 

But maybe you feel more like roommates than partners, and you don’t know how to reignite the intimacy and passion that have been missing. It’s possible your interests have diverged over time, or you’ve struggled to find common ground since becoming empty nesters.

On the other hand, you may be having trouble resolving conflict in your long-term marriage or relationship. Tired of having the same discussions over and over, you may feel stuck in counterproductive cycles of push-and-pull, caught between heated arguments and icy silence. Unsure of whether the two of you can ever find a solution, you may be considering separation or divorce. 

When you’re feeling disconnected and isolated in your relationship, you can start to experience anxiety, self-doubt, and other emotional hurdles. You and your partner know that something needs to change, and that your relationship patterns need to be re-evaluated. 

Luckily, Catalyst Counseling offers therapy to couples of all backgrounds and experiences where you can come together, create shared goals, and heal the relationship. 

Tailored Couples Counseling Can Help

Our couples counselors, Katerina and Antoinette, are relationship experts who have experience working with many different kinds of partnerships. We have counseled couples embarking on marriage, as well as those who are navigating separation and divorce. We’ve seen everything from teenage love birds to May-December romances. 

And for clients struggling with identity-specific issues in counseling, we provide culturally competent counseling to trans-racial/trans-cultural couples, gay, lesbian, and queer couples, and couples exploring polyamory. We’ve helped our clients through it all—enhancing physical and emotional awareness across the spectrum of intimacy.

Broken Connections Can Be Fixed

Achieving a healthy, functioning marriage or partnership requires hard work, compromise, and regular maintenance. All couples encounter their fair share of hurdles and have to invest in the relationship’s long-term success by learning to problem-solve together. Though this may seem straightforward in the abstract or early stages of the relationship, the truth is that it often takes the insight of a professional couples therapist to resolve conflict meaningfully. 

And though many clinicians agree to see couples, it’s important to work with a skilled counselor who specializes in marriage dynamics and couples therapy. These couples therapists are extensively trained to maintain objectivity and foster trust between partners as well as within the counselor-client relationship. 

Yet, many people seek relationship advice and marriage help elsewhere, or they think the problems in their relationship will resolve themselves over time. And because the idea of therapy can be daunting, some couples avoid counseling because they fear it is a one-way ticket to separation and divorce. 

But just the opposite is true. By going to couples therapy, you are re-committing to each other and taking steps toward repairing your relationship. With the communication and problem-solving skills you learn in couples therapy at Catalyst Counseling, you and your partner can invigorate your connection—and send sparks flying along the way. 

Marriage And Couples Therapy That Seeks To Understand Your Relationship On A Deep Level

Using a systemic approach—which is just a fancy word for interpersonal dynamics—your couples therapist will help you identify the unhelpful patterns in your marriage or relationship, improve your communication techniques, and adjust behaviors to promote positive change. We treat the couple as our client—not just the individuals within it—so you can ensure that we offer a neutral space and solution-oriented techniques to help your relationship thrive. 

In addition to systemic approaches, our therapists will likely draw from The Gottman Method for couples therapy, which teaches you how to work toward common goals and strengthen your bond. At the core of that bond lies a friendship that is essential to the health of your marriage. By creating individualized ways to honor that friendship, enhance the fun, and foster mutual support, you can repair your connection. 

With newfound clarity and perspective, you are also likely to see increased passion and intimacy in your marriage. And because your therapist has a knack for identifying strengths—both the strengths you have as an individual and those as a couple—you will be able to break away from counterproductive patterns to instead bring out the best in one another. 

Couples therapy at Catalyst Counseling requires patience, commitment, and open-mindedness. With these ingredients—and a little bit of spark—you have the recipe for a healthy, lasting relationship. 

Maybe Your Relationship Could Use A Tune-Up In Therapy, But You Still Have Questions…

How do we know if we need couples counseling or if our connection can be re-established on our own?

Though couples in any stage of the relationship can benefit from therapy, there are some cases where unhealthy patterns and communication issues can resolve without counseling. If you and your partner can navigate conflict calmly and affect meaningful change without a therapist, you may not need counseling. 

However, if you find that your relationship lacks intimacy or that you’re unable to communicate about your relationships without escalation, then you may benefit from couples therapy. With the outside perspective of a counselor, you and your partner can see your disagreements in a new light and develop effective strategies for breaking unhealthy cycles. 

What if my partner won’t agree to see a couples therapist?

Our therapists can still offer meaningful guidance about your relationship in individual therapy, though joint sessions are ideal for couples counseling. When you’re together with your partner, a therapist can help you to see one another’s perspective, improve communication, and repair your connection.  

If you are still having trouble getting your partner to agree to counseling, call us for a consultation. We can get a sense of your hurdles as a couple and help you strategize ways to get your partner to agree to therapy. Even if you can convince them to come to just one session, we are confident that you both will see the value of counseling and want to continue! 

Do you offer sex therapy for couples?

Absolutely. Our couples therapist Antoinette McCardell is trained in sensuality and sex therapy. By providing a sex-positive, shame-free atmosphere in couples counseling, you can join your partner to discuss ways to enhance your sex life as you increase passion and intimacy. 

Find Lasting Harmony Together

If you and your partner struggle through conflict and disconnect, couples therapy at Catalyst Counseling can help you overcome communication obstacles, foster mutual support, and re-affirm your relationship.  

To schedule a free, 15-minute consultation or learn more about our couples counselors please contact us. You can read more about Antoinette, Katerina, and our couples counseling services by visiting their pages.