Couples or Marriage counseling can help couples of all types recognize and resolve conflicts to improve their relationships. Through marriage or couples counseling you can make thoughtful decisions about rebuilding and strengthening your relationship.

Why it’s done:

Marriage counseling usually brings couples together for joint therapy sessions. Working with a counselor, you’ll learn skills to help solidify your relationship. Some couples pursue marriage counseling to strengthen their partnership or to gain a better understanding of each other. In other cases couples seek out marriage counseling to improve a troubled relationship, you can use marriage counseling to help with many varied specific issues, including:

• Communication Problems

• Sexual Difficulties

• Conflicts about child rearing

• Conflicts about blended families

• Substance Abuse

• Anger

• Infidelity

Statistics: The average couples waits six years before seeking help for relationship problems. (Also keep in mind that half of all marriages that end do so in the first seven years). This means that the average couple lives with unhappiness for far too long. (Amy E. Cain, MA, LCPC. MNU)

Sources:

• https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/marriage-counseling/about/pac-20385249

Grief is the normal and natural emotional reaction to loss of any kind. The loss can be physical (such as death), social (such as divorce), or occupational (such as the loss of one’s job).

The Emotional Reactions of Grief Can Include:

• Sadness Anger

• Despair Frustration

• Anxiety Guilt / Regret

• Shock Emotional Numbness

The Physical Reactions of Grief Can Include:

• Sleeping Problems

• Changes in Appetite

• Illness or Physical Problems

Grief Statistics:

• 85% of individuals indicated that their decision-making ranked from very poor to fair in the weeks or months following the grief incident that affected them. (Grief Recovery Institute Educational Foundation, Inc. 2003)

• Grief can also be understood as the conflicting feelings caused by the end of a change in a familiar pattern of behavior.

• When we lose someone important to us, it represents an end to what has been familiar for us and we must be able to adapt to that new- usually unwanted reality.

• “Grief is an emotional experience and no matter how hard society tries to act as if sad feelings don’t exist -They Do!” (The Grief Recovery Method)

Sources:

• http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/grief.aspx

• https://www.griefrecoverymethod.com/blog/2013/06/best-grief-definition-you-will-find

• http://www.hellogrief.org/physical-and-emotional-responses-to-grief/

• https://jimkoeneman.wordpress.com/2011/12/14/statistics-about-grief/

We all go through many transitions in life- some more difficult than others i.e. moving to a new place, losing a job, ending a relationship or becoming an “empty-nester”. We know these transitions are not always ideal or easy to go through, which is why we are here to provide the counseling and support necessary to help make these difficult transitions a little bit easier for you. Our counseling will help you move through these transitions with confidence and help you build the skills necessary to face them head on.

Sources:

• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201703/10-ways-make-it-through-your-life-s-transitions

Are you struggling with specific issues within your personal life or having trouble dealing with life in general? Individual counseling is a great personal opportunity to receive guidance, support and experience personal growth during challenging times in our lives. Individual therapy can prove to be an effective treatment for personal mental and emotional growth and can help individuals a new perspective into the difficult issues within their personal lives that they may be facing.

Sources:

• https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/104899/personal-issue-private-issue-personal-affair-or-personal-business

• https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/finding-a-therapist-who-can-help-you-heal.htm

Trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience. A traumatic event is any incident experienced by a person that is perceived to be dangerous and threatens serious injury or death. It is common for people to feel greatly distressed immediately following a traumatic event. Understanding the emotions and normal responses that follow a disaster or traumatic event can help you cope with your feelings, thoughts and behaviors. Trauma induced therapy can help you process the distressing emotions and memories associated with it.

Examples of traumas that commonly affect individuals include accidents, any type of assault (physical or sexual), robbery, mugging or family violence and witnessing something horrific. The effects of traumatic events place a heavy burden on individuals-their families, and communities.

People who experience a traumatic event do not develop a mental illness however the people who are at most risk of developing one after a traumatic event are those who were prone to depression or anxiety before the event and those who feel horror and powerlessness during the event.

Facts/Statistics:

• In the United States, approximately five million children experience some form of traumatic event each year. (Childhood Trauma Academy)

• The experience of trauma is everywhere in America, 75% of Americans have experienced a traumatic event. (Add. Hope 2018).

• Studies have shown that up to 75% of individuals seeking treatment for a substance abuse disorder have been exposed to or experienced a traumatic event in their lives (SAMHSA/CSAT, 2000).

Sources:

• Mental Health First Aid USA 2016 National Council for Behavioral Health

• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/trauma

• https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/ptsd

• http://www.childtraumaacademy.com/surviving_childhood/lesson01/printing.html

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) is a different and fun way to reach children, adolescents, transitional-age youth and adults without the stigma of talk therapy. EAP is an alternative therapeutic approach that addresses mental health concerns and everyday life challenges by teaming up with caring therapists and horses. Equine therapy often reflects clients' verbal and nonverbal strengths and incongruities while enhancing personal growth and development. This experiential, holistic approach works well with solution-focused therapy (SFT) and other evidence-based treatment modalities, e.g., ACT, EMDR, and CBT.