Couples Counseling

PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING FOR COUPLES SUFFERING FROM INFIDELITY, BETRAYAL, POOR COMMUNICATION, & LACK of EMOTIONAL and/or PHYSICAL INTIMACY

If you are a couple on the brink of ending your relationship after discovering infidelity, pornography use, addiction issues, poor work-life balance issues, extended family issues, lack of physical or emotional intimacy, issues with parenting, or simply having an inability to communicate effectively with one another, Dr. Jane Braun will teach you and your spouse ways to restore trust, improve communication, resolve disagreements, and develop the emotional and physical intimacy you have always desired to have.

When you work with Dr. Braun you will learn techniques for working through conflict in a healthy manner. You will learn skills to live in a loving and respectful manner with your partner. You will learn ways to live with your partner without having shouting matches or giving each other the silent treatment.  Learning these types of skills typically helps people to have greater energy to invest in happy interactions with one another.

A frequent characteristic  of individuals suffering from sexual addiction issues is enmeshment with one's parent.

Common characteristics of a spouse or partner who is enmeshed with a parent involve:

1. Having difficulty making decisions without consulting one's parent

2. Being overly reliant on one's parent for emotional support and validation

3. Having an inability to set boundaries with one's parent and allowing the parent to run one's life

4. Making the parent's needs more of a priority than the needs of one's partner or spouse

Techniques used in counseling involve emotionally focused couples therapy, Gottman couples therapy techniques, and Solution Focused therapy techniques which address issues of attachment, addiction, depression, anxiety, and trauma.

Couples/Marital Counseling will provide you with these benefits:

1. You will learn the benefits of breaking through isolation and secrecy

2. You will come to understand any underlying issues that created a tendency to develop addictive behaviors in your life and issues related to your difficulties with forming attached and emotionally intimate relationships.

3. You will learn the reasons why you have turned to fantasy to manage sadness, anxiety or unhappiness in your relationship and methods that help most people change this pattern

4. You will discover the benefit of learning the value of gaining self-control over addictive behaviors that have threatened to destroy your individual life and your relationship.

5. You will learn the value of gaining self-control over your communication so that you will recognize the destructive nature of using words that wound one another.

6. You will learn the value of walking in self-control in order to have respectful interactions with your partner even when you have painful feelings of sadness or anger.

7. You will discover ways that have proven to be effective for many people to manage temptations to act out sexually or engage in other addictive behaviors while learning to substitute healthy behaviors for inappropriate addictive behaviors

8. You will learn the value of developing an agreement with your partner about what faithfulness in your relationship means moving forward to help you restore intimacy and trust.

9. You will learn the importance of developing an appropriate social support system outside of the relationship with your spouse/partner so that you will have an accountability partner to help you to cope with urges to relapse and engage in sexually inappropriate behaviors

10. You will learn the difference between infatuation and true love and the value of having true loving relationships in your life as well as the necessary factors to maintain these relationships

11. You will begin to recognize destructive thoughts that have contributed to the problems in your relationship such as "I don't need help to manage anything in my life."

12. You will receive assistance in attempting to negotiate areas of your relationship that did not feel possible to change

13. You will receive help in recognizing blind spots that were present in your relationship which contributed to there being a tendency to deny the severity of the relationship problems.

DON'T WAIT UNTIL YOU HIT ROCK BOTTOM, you develop a sexually transmitted disease (STD), you give this STD to your spouse/partner, your infidelity is discovered by your spouse/partner, your other addictions are ruining your life, or your spouse/partner tells you he/she wants a divorce or separation.

Call Dr. Braun today before your it is too late: (708) DR-BRAUN or (708) 372-7286

Realize there is HOPE FOR CHANGE!

Take the FIRST STEP:

1. The betrayed partner needs help feeling safe and processing what has happened as a result of the betrayal or lack of effective communication so that trust can start to be rebuilt if betrayal is present

2. The partner who has committed the betrayal needs help understanding why he/she committed the infidelity or drifted away from the relationship to connect with someone elsewhere. This partner needs help starting recovery treatment for addiction if present, learning empathy skills, and learning how to engage in behaviors to build back trust.

3. Both partners need assistance with recognizing the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance, overcoming extended family issues, handling parenting issues so that they have the ability to give their relationship the priority it deserves in their lives, and rebuilding healthy communication skills, intimacy, and trust.

Dr. Jane Braun, Ph.D., CSAT is a Clinical Psychologist and Certified Sexual Addiction Therapist with over 15 years experience helping individuals and couples overcome issues of betrayal, infidelity, sexual addiction, pornography addiction, trauma, depression, and anxiety all in an atmosphere of confidentiality, respect, and genuine care for your needs.

Begin your recovery today with a confidential telephone consultation with Dr. Braun.

For more information or to schedule a first appointment, call Dr. Braun at (708) DR-BRAUN or 

(708) 372-7286