Where do I find the best couples counseling near me?
At Couples Therapy Inc., we find therapists who are outstanding in providing quality marriage counseling. All have graduate degree in mental health. They also have at least a master degrees to become marriage and family therapists, mental health counselors, licensed clinical social workers (LCSW) or psychologists. More importantly, they are specialists in helping couples.
Why do you need a specialists in marriage counseling?
Your troubled relationship needs skillful care & attention.
We know that when we're seriously ill and need surgery, we can't just call the first name on a Google search. We need to have some idea of how to find the best medical professional we can afford.
Medicine is highly regulated.
So that even if your cousin Charlie has a sharp knife and likes to cut things, he's not the person you'd turn to for surgical help.
And luckily Charlie can't set up an office as a "surgeon" either. He needs a medical license. Training to become a surgeon includes general medical training and then specialized training rotations in surgery.
Unfortunately, this is not the case with couples therapy.
There is no license needed to work with couples. There is no "rotation" in couples therapy for any counseling program, even Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT's) (these students may take only a single course in helping couples). If a professional wants to become a couples therapist, they do it on their own dime, after their graduate degree.
When it comes to our marriages and our love life, some of us open our hearts and minds to whoever might listen. Or we put in "marriage counseling" in Google and hire a person with a catchy landing page, ask our friends, or just look up a name on our insurance panel.
But even in matters of the heart, there are better ways to find excellent help. It requires knowing a bit about the field.
Assessment: Beginning the Work of Couples Therapy
We know that diagnosis is essential in medicine. That happens with an interview, examination, lab work and perhaps X-rays.
Couples Therapy has an assessment, too. We look at you as an individual, as a marital unit, and your life situation. We do this using interviews, assessment instruments, and videotaping of a particular set of interactions.
Like a diamond, your marriage is the hardest “jewel” in the rocky world of relationships. But with a magnifying glass and precision skill, the jeweler's tap brings out the luster. Many marriage are rough stones with hidden brilliance... just waiting to shine.
Careful assessment is our "magnifying glass." Our Assessment instruments allows us take a closer look at you as an individual in your marriage.
It's completed online. Filling it out will have a huge impact on you. Our couples tell us it was the start of their couples therapy.
This online assessment is scored, and your words are carefully read and analyzed, side-by-side with your partner's tome. We do this before we even meet.
When you arrive at our office, we'll explore your early relationship history, "The Story of Us," and with your therapist, you'll work collaboratively, constructing your most critical relationship goals during our time together.
With the help of The BIG BIG Book, you'll be asked finely-tuned questions about your marital issues.
Good Fit Means Excellent Training
Levels of Training in Couples Therapy Institutes
The Gottman Institute and the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy
are two of the best-known training institutes for couples therapists.
- The Gottman Institute has four levels of training: Levels I, II, III & Certification.
- Emotionally-focused couples therapy (EFT) has three levels: Externship, Core Skills and Certification.
Both have approved supervisors who can teach other therapists the skills in these models.
There are perhaps 1000 certified EFT couples therapists and under 400 Gottman-certified couples therapists worldwide.
All of our therapists at Couples Therapy Inc. are trained in two levels of Gottman Method. Most have Level Three in the Gottman Method as well as experience in several other models of helping relationships heal.
Ten of our couples therapists are Certified by the Gottman Institute. Four are MASTER TRAINERS who work for and train for the Gottman Institute.
We also have many therapists with EFT levels of training, in addition to Gottman Method training and one certified EFT therapist, on the track to become a supervisor of EFT. Specialists in helping couples.
I can't emphasize how rare that is for a therapy practice.
Our Team has almost 600 years of combined experience.
We know how to help couples. At Couples Therapy Inc, it's all we do.
We conduct our therapy over one intensive weekend. We call these "retreats." It provides what would amount to months of traditional treatment.
If you'd like to learn more, reach out and contact us.