Isabel Kirk

Marriage Counseling Approaches:

We draw from the most advanced research on adult attachment and have extensive training on the most effective couples counseling strategies to help you and your partner create the healthy relationship you need, and get the love you deserve. Some of the theories we use are:

Imago Theory:

Harville Hendrix, Ph.D. (Getting the Love You Want), looks for ways that your current difficulties might relate to what you learned about relationships during your childhood and early adulthood and how partners can help each other to complete those “unfinished businesses,” so they can then relate from their adult selves while completing and healing each others’ childhoods. Marriage counseling is the pathway to healing.

Emotionally Focused Therapy:

Sue Jonhson, PhD. (Hold Me Tight), or EFT draws on attachment theory, which asserts that humans are hardwired for strong emotional bonds with others. According to EFT, couples have relationship problems when they’ve “experienced emotional disconnection with their partner at key moments, which then leads to struggles” with negative cycles of criticism and anger (among other emotions and reactions). Therefore, the aim of EFT is to help couples overcome these negative cycles, re-establish their connection, and strengthen their emotional bond.

Relational Life Therapy:

Terry Real (Relational Institute), teach the principles of Relational processes in order to help people address relational and psychological health in three critical relationship areas: parenting, coupling, and workforce effectiveness. This model teaches clients healthy relating, helping them perform the modest miracle of personal transformation on a permanent process level. This is a more hands on marriage counseling approach.

PAIRS:

Dr. Lori Gordon (Practical Application of Intimate Relationship Skills), it is a program that provides a comprehensive system to enhance self-knowledge and to develop the ability to sustain pleasurable intimate relationships. It teaches useful behavioral techniques such as 1) emotional literacy; 2) communication skills and conflict resolution and 3) conjoint partner skills for building and enhancing intimacy.

DARe:

Diane Poole Heller, PhD. (Somatic Experiencing-based attachment repair program), groundbreaking approach that integrates interpersonal neurobiology and adult attachment theory. It provides the keys to the mystery of healthy relationships by teaching you how to compassionately free yourself from the patterns of early attachment wounds that influence your adult relationships negatively.

These approaches don’t only teach techniques, they use strategies for overcoming the fight/flight response in relationships and for rewiring the brain towards a more secure attachment. Therefore, recondition the brain for greater empathy and more intimacy. The newest Neuroscience of Attachment and brain development is drastically influencing our understanding of how to bring about healing and influence our relationships toward more fulfillment.

We specialize in relationships by helping people gain self-awareness, emotional balance, and control of their own lives to develop a fulfilling lasting love life. In a positive, non-blaming, male friendly, insightful and solution-oriented approach I help you understand and change your role and style in intimate relationships. I finally help you clarify what you really need from your partner, and how to give it to each other. This marriage counseling approach helps each partner to focus mostly in their individual work.