Belmont Marriage Counseling

If you are adding children to a marriage which can bring lots of stress and change the dynamics of the relationship. As the saying goes, the days are long but the years are short. Its common for marital satisfaction to decrease after having children but that can be mitigated with the right help. 

If you have been together for decades but have gone adrift with a steady slide, I want to get you back on track. A new track. Couples have to continue to fall in love with each other in different ways as they move through the aging process together. Using evidence-based interventions, my aim is to provide a space for couples to reconnect again and being the focus back to each other. 

As a couples counseling specialist and a previous therapist on staff at the renowned Couples Institute in Silicon Valley, I bring a significant amount of training and experience about relationships based on the following:

The Gottman Method

The Gottman Method was developed by Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman in the 1980s. It is an evidence-based form of couples therapy that strives to assist couples in achieving a deeper sense of understanding, awareness, empathy, and connectedness within their relationships that ultimately leads to heightened intimacy and interpersonal growth. By combining therapeutic interventions with couples exercises, this type of therapy helps couples identify and address the natural defenses that hinder effective communication and bonding.

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)

Emotionally focused therapy, an intervention based on scientific study of adult love and bonding processes in couples, is designed to address distress in the intimate relationships of adults. Strategies from emotionally focused therapy can also be used in family therapy to help family members connect and improve emotional attachment. Couples seeking counseling to improve their relationships may find this method a beneficial approach, as it can help people better understand both their own emotional responses and those of significant people in their lives.

Imago Relationship Therapy (IRT)

Imago relationship therapy (IRT) aims to equip couples with the tools necessary to relate to each other in healthier ways, and reveal the emotional pathway formed in childhood that led them to their current situation. This form of therapy combines spiritual and behavioral techniques with Western psychological methodologies in order to assist couples in unveiling their unconscious components. Imago relationship therapy involves viewing a conflict between couples as merely the outcome of specific circumstances-not the cause of disharmony. By examining the conflict itself, a couple can arrive at a satisfying solution, heal, and then grow together.

Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT)

The Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT) relies on the application of research in neuroscience and attachment theory to improve interactions between couples. This approach, which was developed by Stan Tatkin, aims to help couples notice their reactions as they occur and learn how to better address one another's attachment needs.

Developmental Model of Couples Therapy

The developmental model of couples therapy is an approach to relationship counseling that focuses on the growth and development of each partner individually in addition to the growth and development of the couple as a unit. This approach assumes long-term relationships naturally change over time as they progress through a series of predictable developmental stages.  

Happy Wife, Happy Life”… Right?

By Mark Mouro

I don’t know about you, but when I was a young man growing up and trying to navigate the treacherous world of relationships, one adage stuck with me more than any other: “Happy wife, happy life.” Continue Reading....