Couples Therapy
One Couple’s Story: From Doom and Gloom Drama to Romantic Comedy*
*names are changed to protect confidentiality
How long can a couch be?
When Taylor and Brett first came to see me, they sat worlds away from each other on my couch.
Tension, sadness and anger filled the space between them. It had been building up for the last four years.
Taylor and Brett could see that they were stuck in this negative behavioral cycle that kept repeating like a broken record. They felt hopeless and helpless in their relationship and didn’t know how to change that.
With two young children and demanding jobs, they had little time to talk, have a date night, or have sex.
Taylor complained of ongoing attempts to connect with Brett, but he always had his head on his phone. Taylor felt ignored and unimportant, and lashed out at Brett, “You can’t even put your phone down for five minutes and listen to me? I’m done trying with you. You just don’t care.”
Brett would get angry and defensive, “Don’t you get it? I’m working! Can’t you just give me a break sometimes? You’re always on me!” Anger, distance, silence. Repeat.
Sound familiar? Here’s where the plot shifts…
In their work with me, Taylor and Brett realized that underneath all that anger, there was a lot of pain and a deep longing to connect again. They knew they still loved each other; they just weren’t feeling the love.
The understanding that Taylor and Brett needed was that they were on the same team and that this negative cycle was the enemy that needed to be fought off.
I helped them create a positive cycle that was strong enough to replace that old, negative one that they were stuck in. I guided them to restructure their bond so they could express their feelings and needs to one another in a healthy, connected way.
And wouldn’t you know it? They started to feel the love again!
Ah, the couch became a loveseat!
Sitting close together on my couch, their laughter and verbal expressions of love filled the room.
Outside of sessions, they were talking, going out on dates, having sex, and stopping the negative cycle in its tracks whenever it would rear its ugly head.
Their bond became so strong that they could turn to each other in difficult moments and work through adversity as a team with understanding, empathy, and humor.
With my help, Taylor and Brett completely rewrote their relationship story from a doom-and-gloom drama to a full-on romantic comedy.
Let me help you get started today!
Call me at (240) 316-4673, email me at caryn@carynmalkustherapy.com, or complete the contact form below.