Relationship Issues

Marital | Couples | Families | Social Interactions

Getting along with others is at the heart of socialization and is an important factor in our success and happiness. Oftentimes friendships, marriages, sibling relationships, and parent-child interactions become strained. This can be the result of stresses outside the relationship or it can be due to problems within the relationship. Getting help with these kinds of problems can greatly enhance and accelerate getting back to feeling good again.

Marital/Couples Marital relationships can become strained by pressures such as child rearing demands, financial difficulties, sexual problems, balancing work and family responsibilities, or other daily pressures. Sometimes problems arise related to dissatisfaction, unmet expectations, or compatibility issues in the marital relationship. Such problems lead to frustration and sometimes divorce. They also negatively impact other aspects of one’s life and can interfere with the emotional and behavioral functioning of the children.

The purpose of marital therapy is to help couples to decrease or lessen the impact of these stresses on their relationship, help couples work together to get through normal transitions that they encounter in life (e.g., the birth of a child or a child leaving the home), and to enrich and enhance the marital relationship.

Families Family demands seem to be increasing in our society. Some of these are related to the fact that both parents may be working outside the home. Children tend to be involved in many extracurricular activities that can result in stress on the family. As the stress increases, often conflicts between family members surface. Family therapy is often the best approach to helping people to resolve problems in their lives. Examples of problems that can be addressed in family therapy include the following:

Children not complying with parent requests

Parent-child conflicts

Conflicts between siblings

Problems arising from being a single parent

Stepfamily issues and challenges

Adjusting to developmental changes in the family or life-cycle transitions

Losses or catastrophes that impact family members

Social Interactions Both children and adults sometimes encounter difficulties establishing friendships or maintaining them. Conflicts with coworkers or one’s boss can also have a great impact on how we feel and function in our daily interactions. Therapy can assist people in learning ways to develop relationships, improve established relationships, and to reduce tensions between themselves and others.