The relationship you have with your family is by far the most important one you have. However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that they are complex and often difficult to maneuver. Every family is different. They come in all shapes, sizes and from different backgrounds and dynamics. Seeking marriage and family counseling (also known as couples and family therapy) puts you and your family on the path to healthier communication and a better understanding of each other.
It is important that, as a family, you all collaborate to work towards healthy methods of coping and resolving conflicts. Every family experiences various trials and tribulations, as well as ups and downs in life – it’s completely normal. In family therapy, the marriage and family therapist provides a safe place for each family member to express what he or she is feeling. As they do, the other family members listen, take in what they are saying and try to embody it.
The goal of marriage and family counseling is to encourage each family member to express what he or she is feeling and also to take in what is being experienced and felt by the others.
One of the main roles of a marriage and family therapist is to also allow for a smooth flow of communication betw
een family members by helping empower the family to collaborate toward reaching their shared dreams, aspirations and goals. With marriages, one of a counselor’s goals is to uncover any deeper, hidden emotional needs that you and your partner each bring to your relationship.
Young children are especially powerful in family therapy because they almost always help their parents get in touch with the deeper emotional currents that always take place in the family. Kids are able to be wonderful role models because they have yet to learn how to hide their deeper feelings, the way their parents have.
The Importance of a Healthy Relationship for Your Family
Having a healthy family dynamic is incredibly important, not only for your children and home life but for you and your spouse’s relationship as well. Your family deserves to be happy and healthy, no matter the situation life may find you in. Not only can therapy help you address problematic relationships with your partner, children or other family members, but it can help improve those relationships.
A marriage therapist may also uncover underlying issues, such as the effect of mental illness or substance abuse on a relationship or family, various financial or marital troubles, or unspoken conflict between parents and children that is driving a wedge in their relationship.
On top of these, marriage and family therapists can assist you if your family is having issues in the following areas:
- Issues with communication
- Mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety
- Separation or divorce
- Alimony, child custody or child support
- Grief or loss
- Overcoming life changes
- Battling addiction
- Rebellious children
Making Parenting Easier
Nobody ever said that being a parent was an easy feat. Parenting is a full-time, unpaid, 24/7 on-call job. Despite any issues you and your children may be going through – issues with parenting or co-parenting, getting on the same page with different parenting styles, children who refuse to follow rules at home or school, daily household arguments and stress, children disrespecting their parents or family members, or troubles implementing family values – marriage and family counseling can be extremely helpful and an advantageous resource.
No matter the situation or issue you, your partner or family find yourselves in, we view the problem as its own issue. The people who are associated with the problem are not synonymous with what is going on. The compassionate and understanding marriage and family therapists at Marriage Couples Counseling in New York City make sure to put themselves in the shoes of each family member.
This allows them to see their points of view, understand where they are coming from, find opportunities for compromise, as well as give them support as you and your family work together as a unit. This creates open communication, as well as a safe space for families to shift their mindsets on how they address problems and relate to them. Doing so will allow peace, harmony and unconditional love to enter back into their relationships and everyday lives.
Roles of a Marriage and Family Counselor
Marriage and family therapists have multiple facets to their job description. Not only do they evaluate and diagnose mental illnesses associated with marriage and family matters, but they also treat them, as well as provide help for psychological distress. Marriage and family counselors provide various counseling services in different areas, which range from premarital counseling and relationship counseling to child counseling and separation/divorce counseling.
Some tasks that encompass a marriage and family therapist’s daily responsibilities in the office include, but are not limited to:
- Assessing, diagnosing and treating mental disorders
- Conducting psychotherapy with individuals, couples and families, and using Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy with couples
- Helping clients create and sustain various interpersonal communication skills to use in their marriage and family relationships
- Developing different treatment plans custom per person or family
Through marriage and family counseling, you and your family will be able to find new ways to enhance communication with each other. However, there needs to be reciprocal efforts for changes to be seen – especially with your marriage.
At Marriage Couples Counseling in New York City, we use Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) to bring about seven important conversations for you and your partner described by Sue Johnson in her book, Hold Me Tight. These conversations include:
- Recognizing Demon Dialogues
- Finding the Raw Spots
- Revisiting Rocky Moments
- Hold Me Tight
- Forgiving Injuries
- Bonding through Sex and Touch
- Keeping Your Love Alive
Seeking Marriage and Family Counseling in New York City
Here at Marriage Couples Counseling in New York City, we have over 80 years of collective experience working hands-on with couples and families of all ages. These include people from diverse, religious and cultural backgrounds. Couples therapy includes pre-marital counseling, marital counseling, and counseling for all couples, from heterosexual to those who identify as LGBTQIA+. We highly encourage people from all backgrounds to seek marriage and family therapy if they are facing issues in their relationship or with their family.
Our counselors will find any and all strengths, resources and even exceptions where the problems you and your partner or family are facing weren’t as impactful on your relationship or family. We go more in-depth by asking questions about what tactics work for the family, the various areas they feel need to be strengthened and improved within the family dynamics, as well as what asking what each member would like to see improved within the household and family.
Marriage Couples Counseling in NYC’s areas of specialty includes marriage and family counseling, couples counseling, relationship counseling and therapy, pre-marital counseling issues and conflicts, couples sex therapy in the spirit of Kamasutra, relationship breakup advice and help with leaving abusive relationships. No matter what situation you and your partner may find yourselves in – whether now or in the future – we are here to help you unconditionally. Contact us today at 212-673-4618 to schedule a consultation.