Couples/Marital Therapy

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They are made up of more than just the sum of the individual people involved. Many factors influence relationships. We refer to this variety of factors as "relationship systems." 

Before embarking on the journey of change, it is important for a couple's therapist to understand how the components of these systems interact with and impact one another. Some examples of the components that make  up these relationship systems include:  

• individual points of view
• each person's upbringing
• social and cultural "norms"
• family of origin dynamics
• gender roles
• work and financial pressures
• past traumas and painful experiences
• mental and physical wellbeing of each individual
• spiritual and religious beliefs and practices
• friends and extended family
• life-stage transitions

When  couples come up against life's inevitable conflicts, it is crucial that couples work with an expert who is skilled in the study of these relationship "systems," as change in one area of the system almost inevitably impacts some or all of the other areas. Therapists working with a couple must understand this ahead of time and prepare clients to skillfully navigate these changes. Without this competency, therapists may perceive these normal fluctuations in the system as "problematic,"  and give up on the solutions the clients are seeking.

However, in the hands of a competent, systems-based therapist, clients can make positive changes in one area of their lives and have that success exponentially multiply across all areas of the couples' life.