Therapy | Addictions | Mid-life Issues | Panic Attacks | Therapist in Northbrook, Libertyville & Arlington Heights

Premarital and Marital Counseling

- What are your reasons for wanting to be with your partner?
- Does your partner understand your needs, wants or feelings?
- Is your partner empathic about your needs and concerns?
- Are you fully aware of your partner’s childhood or family issues?
- Do you know what makes your partner angry, anxious, and sad?
- Do you communicate about feelings or do you stay quiet to avoid conflict?
- Do you expect your role in your marriage to be the same as that of your
   mother or father?
- What issues did the relationship trigger within yourself?
- What issues are you unwilling to compromise on?
- Are you aware of each other’s financial status?
- Are your spending and saving habits the same?
- Do either of you have anxiety about money?

Couples Questions

- Do you find yourselves fighting over the same issues over and over?
- Do you have communication about topics other than your children?
- Have either of you found yourself thinking or fantasizing that another
   relationship would be better?
- Do you feel that you would leave the relationship if you did not have children?
- Is your relationship less fulfilling than it used to be?
- Do you feel distant from your spouse?
- Do you have less affection for your spouse or partner than you used to?
- Can your spouse or partner understand your feelings and emotions without taking it personally?

Counseling Can Help

If you answered “yes” to at least two of these questions and things are not getting better, counseling can help. Many of my clients have reported that without counseling, they would have gotten divorced or stayed in their marriage and remained unhappy. During marital therapy, not only is communication addressed, but the therapy will teach and develop new skills to learn how to: Develop more understanding and empathy for your spouse or partner Learn to listen to your spouse or partner without feeling attacked Discover why certain issues keep recurring in the relationship Become mutually responsible to change negative patterns Meet each other’s needs more effectively Increase and strengthen loving behaviors.

Affairs

You can heal from extramarital affairs. Honestly, it takes a lot of difficult and sometimes painful work. Counseling can help resolve the hurt and betrayal, and heal the relationship. My goals to help improve your marriage are.... To learn how to fight fairly To make arguments less hurtful by helping you understand your spouse or partner's differences Help couples identify and break destructive cycles (eg. tit for tat behavior) Help you understand your spouse or partners behavior so you do not take it personally all the time To learn how to compromise and both feel like your needs are taken in consideration.