Couples Therapy

People feeling dissatisfaction in their relationships often have positive answers to some of these questions:

  • Do you feel pain when thinking about your relationship with your partner?

  • Do you feel lonely when in the presence of the other?

  • Are you often confused by your interactions because you interpret the same events differently
    from your partner, which escalates into disagreements?

  • Do you want to go back to “that time” between the two of you when things seemed so fun complicated and easy?

  • Can your remember the last time that you were really happy together? That you smiled at feach other lovingly?

  • Are you disappointed in your relationship?

  • Do you feel stuck about what to do differently?

  • Do you have what feels like armor around your heart?

Dr. Bridbord helps couples understand and strengthen key areas in their relationships. As a Gottman Certified Couples Therapist, she conducts an extensive assessment of each partner as well as the dynamic between them. She then uses scientifically validated intervention strategies to help them to break through barriers and achieve greater understanding, connection and intimacy.

Since a couple is actually a small group, Dr. Bridbord’s experience and expertise in working with groups and organizations further distinguishes and augments her comprehension and success in counseling couples.

Dr. Bridbord helps couples address:

  • Communication challenges

  • Balancing autonomy and intimacy

  • Stress and anger management

  • Healing shame, trauma, grief, affairs and other issues that have impacted a relationship

  • Working with depression, anxiety and ADHD in the context of a relationship

  • Sexuality

  • Transition to parenthood and parenting

  • Recovering respect

  • Divorce concerns

Couples specifically have achieved:

  • Increased respect, affection and closeness

  • Breakthrough and resolution of conflict

  • Greater understanding of each other

  • Ability to keep conflict discussions calm

Dr. Bridbord includes the following specific programs in the strategies she uses in working with couples:

  • Gottman Method Couples Therapy is based on the research of Dr. John Gottman. It began in the 1970’s and continues to this day, focusing on what makes marriages succeed or fail. From this research, Dr. Gottman and his partner Dr. Julie Gottman created a method of therapy that is an empirically validated approach to improving relationships.

    The process Dr. Bridbord uses consists of three phases:

    1. An assessment that identifies the areas in the relationship needing to be addressed

    2. A combination of individual and couple sessions that teaches the partners how to recognize the signs of relationship disintegration and what to do about them

    3. A focus on creating a shared idea of the relationship and how to achieve that vision

    For an evaluation of how well your relationship is doing, please click here to take this quick quiz, courtesy of the Gottman Institute.

    For more information on the Gottman Institute visit www.gottmaninstitute.com

  • Marathon Therapy is an intensive and focused approach to relationships that can help couples move quickly through specific issues and learn important new skills in a short period of time. Marathon sessions are usually from 3 to 6 hours at a time, and often for two or more consecutive days.

    Couples who might benefit from Marathon Therapy are:

    • Those who want a condensed and highly focused intensive approach to specific issues

    • Those who want to jump-start their weekly sessions by completing the assessment (both joint and individual) and goal setting in an intensive session

    • Those coming from different geographic locations, such as the West Coast or overseas

  • Bringing Baby Home is a research-based, research-tested workshop for expectant couples and parents of infants that provides concrete skills and techniques for managing the transition to parenthood. It was developed by the Gottman Institute, which is known for decades of leading-edge scientific research on couples, child development and the transition to parenthood. This workshop is designed to strengthen the marital bond so that couples will be more effective at navigating this new stage in their lives. It aims to increase a couple’s sense of connection and provide them with tools to better regulate their conflicts and personal differences during this period in life of heightened stress that comes from sleep deprivation, increased responsibilities and decreased leisure time.

Most couples seeking therapy fall into the following categories:

Premarital Couples

Understanding upfront the specific behaviors that can make relationships vulnerable to divorce is an effective way to protect a marriage from dissolving. Before the wedding, couples learn research-supported skills to effectively communicate and manage conflict, along with what they can do to ensure that their marriage will be a strong one.

Couples wanting to move from “good” to “great”

These couples feel that life together is going well but envision that it could be even better. With Dr. Bridbord’s assistance, they achieve even greater intimacy by developing a deeper understanding of their styles of relating to one another.

Couples needing a “tune-up”

These couples feel distant or socially or sexually bored, or they may be having difficulty adjusting to a life transition, such as a newborn, a new job, a move, parenting difficulties, in-law problems, mid-life acceptance, or an empty nest. Working together with Dr. Bridbord they can acquire new skills and tools to bring them even closer during these challenging times.

Couples where health is a concern

These couples are in situations where one or both partners are facing a major health issue, such as open-heart surgery or cancer. Research shows that a strong marriage can provide healing and expedite recovery in the face of health challenges. Couples therapy can facilitate helping the marriage to address this stress.

Couples in crisis

These couples are not able to speak about difficult issues without fighting or stonewalling. They may be thinking about divorce, or face an affair, substance abuse, or domestic violence, or find that a life crisis has come between them.,

Couples expecting or who have recently had a child

67% of couples report a significant decrease in their relationship quality within 3 years after the birth of a child, along with an increase in conflict and hostility (Source: Relationship Research Institute). These couples are aware of this statistic and are being proactive in working with Dr. Bridbord to develop new skills and tools to protect their relationship during the stressful transition to parenthood.

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