When I went back to school for my degree, I knew I wanted to work with families and relationships. It’s what Marriage Family Therapists are trained for. I am still training today about relationships to learn new perspectives or new technique because, just like our world, relationships are always changing and evolving even if we aren’t noticing.
Couples Therapy. In couples work, I’ve been influenced by Pia Melody and her Talking-Listening Format, John Gottman and the Stress Reducing Conversation and Ellyn Bader and the Initiator-Enquirer Process. Each of these are communication techniques that help aid couples in understanding and connection. Embedded in each one is a call for partners or family members to reveal who they are and what their needs may be. Which of these we use depends on the best match for each relationship’s unique style.
Family Therapy. Sometimes just part of a family needs help improving or even re-establishing communication. Father/son, mother/daughter, siblings, adult children and their parents. Other times my office is filled with the entire family. I may be needed to just help guide the conversation. Other times history makes things more complex and my work may to be to provide a safe environment, assist reconnection or explore with them a history of real or perceived injury. This is what I trained for.