Provide Online Therapy to  St. Augustine, Palm Coast, Ponte Vedra and the state of Florida.

It seems rather obvious that as a society we're not really prepared for marriage or intimate relationships of any kind and we can can see from the divorce rate being over fifty percent. Schools have been inadequate to prepare us for one of the most important parts of our lives,our intimate relationships,and parental models may not have always been the best guides as to a good marriage. Helping couples learn to communicate better and manage conflict is certainly a crucialtask and something I do in working with couples. As a matter of fact,harsh startups or confrontations are the leading cause for divorce. Equally important I have found, the dysfunctional friendship within the relationship is oftentimes the main cause. It has been shown that people in close relationship are often making bids for connection from one another in the areas of attention, affection, appreciation, emotional support, and sexuality. When these bids for connection get ignored or are rejected conflict often begins. So it is in this area of the relationship friendship that I often work to establish a firm foundation for the relationship and prevent conflict. If conflict does arise I also teach couples how to self soothe and self calm as well as to develop both verbal and nonverbal repairs to make to convey caring and a willingness to resolve the conflict. People new to intimate relationships often don't realize the stages of any close relationship. As a result when the "honeymoon" or idealization stage diminishes over time and one begins to see differences and flaws instead of unity and perfection,the stage of disillusionment that all couples go through, can leave one deeply disappointed and ready to go for a divorce. part of my helping couples is helping them develop realistic expectations of relationships so they will realize for example that differences and the conflict that arise from them are normal and natural rather than wrong or bad and that they don't love each other. Helping clients learn to appreciate the wholeness of the other with both "good" and "bad" qualities rather than being a part person that is as either all "good" or all "bad" is an important part of what I do. This helps sustain empathy and caring for the other even as the weaknesses and disappointments become obvious. When one can learn that one can feel angry with another and yet still love them and that one love the other and yet still feel angry with them at times then a state of stability has been reached and the relationship now has the ability to make it over the long haul.