Marriage Counseling

All five therapists at the Lightspring Counseling Center are experienced in marriage counseling, couples counseling, and relationship repair.  Two of the therapists, BJ Stober and Lane Andelin, are specifically trained and licensed in marriage counseling and family therapy.

Marriage counseling can create tremendous relief when relationships are stressed , overwhelmed or derailed.

Marriage counseling challenges fall into two categories.    The first category is challenges stemming from communication patterns, personal culture difference, insecurities, personality type differences, gender differences, and misconceptions about each other’s needs.   These kinds of problems often resolve quickly in marriage counseling  as spouses gain insight into these challenges and develop advanced skills for managing them.

The second  type of challenges in marriage counseling are those caused by serious, destructive, or long-term personal problems.   These include:  infidelity, addiction, mental illness, domestic violence, illegal behavior, and pervasive patterns of blame, dishonesty or jealousy.

These challenges are more difficult to resolve.   Many of them can be resolved if the partners are willing to work hard, but specialized individual therapy may be needed in addition to marriage counseling.

A temporary but very difficult challenges is created in marriages when a spouses remembers or experiences resurfacing emotions from childhood sexual abuse.  If this happens, there is a risk of serious damage to the marriage.  A spouse with unresolved abuse trauma will typically experience fear, anger and confusion towards all members of the abusing gender.   For a period of time this often includes the spouse.   This stage of recovery will pass as the repressed emotions are resolved..   It is important that an individual not make a change in their marital status because of these surfacing feelings

Rapid trauma release therapy can help these painful feelings resolve much more gently, safely and rapidly, and can provide essential insight and support to both spouses.  This support can facilitate the stabilization and repair of the marriage.