Individual Relationship Counseling
Reconnect with yourself and those around you.
Online in Minneapolis and 40 states
Despite your best efforts to fix your relationships, you feel like you’re stuck on a merry-go-round, having the same arguments and communication breakdowns over and over again.
Sometimes, when you just can’t take it anymore, you lash out and drive others away. Otherwise, you shut down, cave in, or run for the exit because you’re too overwhelmed to continue. Maybe you’ve even pulled back or given up on engaging with others.
You’re feeling guilty and ashamed, because this is not who you want to be. You want much more from yourself and your relationships, but you’re not sure where to go from here.
Whether you’re wanting to pursue new connections or strengthen the ones you already have, you can learn new ways of showing up with others to build healthier relationships (and thus, a more fulfilling life overall).
You don’t have to continue living out these tired, old patterns.
Relationships are the foundation of your wellbeing. When they’re shaky, every other part of your life is too.
Is individual relationship counseling right for you?
Do you:
Often feel lonely and disconnected from yourself and others?
Feel inadequate as a partner/parent/friend/colleague?
Give too much to others and not enough to yourself?
Struggle asking for what you want/need or saying “no?”
Lash out or shut down, and later regret it?
Care too much about what others think?
Find it hard to trust others?
Have a tough time communicating your thoughts and feelings?
Struggle to understand why others are upset with you?
If these issues are causing you difficulties with your partner, friends, child(ren), parents, or co-workers, you’re in the right place.
WHAT WE’LL FOCUS ON:
To be more in tune with others, you need to begin by tuning into yourself.
Individual relationship counseling helps you learn how to build connections that feel healthy to you.
In therapy, we’ll focus a lot on learning how to treat yourself with compassion. I’ll help you notice and celebrate what you’re already doing well, and practice patience and curiosity around the areas that you want to improve. We’ll identify and challenge your unhelpful relationship patterns and work toward replacing them with new strategies that will help you feel more balanced and connected in your relationships.
Another important part of changing unhealthy relationship patterns involves taking a close look at them to understand where they came from in the first place. Our relationship patterns often have their roots in our earliest relationships with caregivers. This exploration process will help you see exactly where and why you’re stuck and allow you to dig up those deeply rooted patterns to make way for lasting change.
You’ll learn to practice compassion for yourself as you start to see how your past shaped your problematic relationship patterns, while taking responsibility for changing them in the here and now.
Build key skills that will help you replace your problematic relationship patterns with new, healthier strategies.
Strengthen your emotional vocabulary and effectively express yourself.
Set boundaries (say “no” to others).
Assert yourself (ask for what you want/need from others).
Better understand others’ perspectives.
Respond in more productive and effective ways when others are upset.
Take better care of yourself.
Individual relationship counseling can help you:
Gain a new perspective on the relationship patterns that keep you stuck.
Heal from old wounds.
Feel more confident.
Start to see yourself in a more compassionate and positive light.
Establish deeper, stronger connections with yourself and others.
Feel more balanced and satisifed in your relationships with others.
Gain a greater sense of control in your life (rather than being controlled by your emotions).
Frequently asked questions about individual realtionship counseling
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Individual relationship therapy can have positive impacts across all your relationships, and I welcome talking about any/all of them. My clients tend to focus on their relationships with their partner (I warmly welcome those in same sex relationships), children, parents, friends, co-workers, and themselves. I also work with many clients who are single and seeking to find a romantic partner.
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Absolutely. Individual therapy can help you explore your own thoughts, feelings and behaviors that are related to your relationship difficulties. It can also improve your ability to communicate, regulate emotions, recognize unhelpful relationship patterns, and take better care of yourself so that you can be a better partner.
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Making the decision to start any type of therapy is deeply personal and it’s important not to push someone who’s not ready. If someone is open to trying therapy, it can be helpful to practice empathy and remind them that seeking help is a normal part of life and that therapy can provide a safe, confidential, and supportive space for someone to work on their difficulties. If you’ve had positive personal experiences with therapy, it can be helpful to share these. Finally, it can be helpful to talk with the person about what they might be looking for in terms of the therapist’s specialization, experience, and personal characteristics to help them find a good fit.