Couples Therapy

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What is Couples Therapy?

People come to us for couples therapy for a variety of reasons. One of the benefits of couples therapy is having an impartial, trained therapist help the two of you together work through the issues that have you fighting, in conflict or struggling with satisfaction in your relationship. With couples we will build a better understanding of how your experiences overlap and how they differ, how that affects your choices today and how that impacts your relationship. We will help you to build healthy communication skills and avoid getting stuck in unhealthy and unhelpful cycles.

Who do we treat?

At Behr Psychology, we work with couples of all kinds. We provide marital and premarital therapy, work with inter-racial, inter-ethnic and inter-religious couples, as well as couples with children, couples who are family planning, couples who are breaking up, and couples who just want to improve their communication skills. At Behr Psychology, our clinicians are all culturally sensitive, LGBTQIA+ friendly and accepting of all lifestyles.

Sometimes people worry that their therapist will take sides. Our therapists and psychologists listen with open minds and reflect back to you and your partner what they see and hear from both of you in an impartial way.

What to expect

Couples therapy is a collaborative experience. Couples have the opportunity to work with a highly trained therapist to address the issues that threaten or weaken their relationship in a safe and impartial environment. Your therapist will speak to both of you in a joint meeting where the goal is for the couple to function in health.

Myths about Couples Therapy:

Myth: A Couples Therapist is a crutch for my relationship.

Fact: A couple’s therapist does not want to be the third member of your relationship. The goal of couples therapy is to help improve your communication and improve your understanding of each other, so you can leave therapy and function in health, on your own.

Myth: A couple’s therapist will take sides or “gang up” on me.

Fact: Our couple’s therapists are always on the side of the health of the couple. We do not form independent alliances with either members of the couple but instead work to support what is healthiest for the couple as a whole.

Myth: Our issues aren’t big enough for couples therapy.

Fact: Couples can benefit from seeing a therapist if they want to work on their communication and understand each other better. In our view, it is better to approach problems in a relationship while they are hills, and before they become mountains.

Myth: A couples therapist will be able to tell us if we should stay together or break up.

Fact: A couples therapist will help you understand your own needs in relationships as well as your partner’s. With new skills and insights into yourself and your partner you will be in a better position to understand your compatibility and the sustainability of the relationship.

Good reasons to start therapy

Anxiety

If you are experiencing stress, worry, overwhelm, panic, and are overthinking things, you may be dealing with anxiety. Therapy can be helpful in supporting you to better understand and manage your anxiety.

Depression

Depression can look different for everyone, but some common signs of depression are chronic sadness, lack of motivation, feeling withdrawn, removed, and isolated. Therapy can be helpful in supporting you to better understand and manage your depression.

Relationship Problems

Therapy can be helpful in improving relationships. Interpersonal problems can result from trauma, lack of experience, miscommunication, incompatibility, or life stressors and circumstances. We can help you to improve your relationships through individual or couples therapy.

Work-Life Balance

It can be difficult to juggle your work life with your personal life, and there are many stressors that come into play when trying to find a healthy work-life balance. Therapy can help you to set boundaries and achieve greater balance in your life.

Religion and Culture

Everyone has their own unique experience related to their religion and culture. At Behr Psychology we are sensitive and knowledgeable about many cultures and religions. We can work with you to understand conflicts or values related to religion and culture.

Intersectionality

Race, class, and gender identities often overlap and can be the source of trauma, discrimination or disadvantage. Therapy can help you to process these experiences and your unique identity.

Trauma

Trauma is an emotional response to a threatening event that causes long-term reactions such as flashbacks, unpredictable emotions, dissociative episodes, or physical symptoms. Therapy can be helpful in supporting you to better understand, process, and manage your symptoms of trauma and anxiety.

Sexual Dysfunction

At Behr Psychology we treat a range of sexual disorders including erectile dysfunction, low libido, premature ejaculation, vaginismus, porn addiction, sex addiction and pain with sex. Sexual health can be related to any of these issues in addition to kink and BDSM. Therapy can be helpful in supporting you to better understand, process, and manage issues and topics related to sex and sexual health.

Life Transitions

We can help support you through life transitions that can create stress and anxiety in your life. This can include moving, changing jobs, beginning and finishing school, starting a family, caretaking responsibilities, marriage, and grief and loss. Therapy can help provide a safe space for you to process your emotions and get the support you need.

Self-Esteem

Self-esteem and self-love are at the core of many other emotional functions. If you are struggling with self esteem you might be dealing with body image, an eating disorder, depression, anxiety, or self-confidence. Therapy can help you to build your self-esteem and confidence while reducing shame and guilt.

Assertiveness

Many people struggle with asserting themselves in the workplace and in relationships. Confidence, communication, and strategy are key when working on assertiveness. Therapy can help to support your abilities to assert yourself in a variety of settings.

Self-Exploration

Self-exploration in therapy is useful for people who want to learn more about themselves but may not know where to start. You may be interested in therapy but are not sure what you really want to talk about. That is ok. You don’t need to know where to start to begin exploring.

We are now offering in-person and telehealth appointments. Schedule a visit.

Our therapists are licensed in NY, NJ and CA.