Marriage Counseling Chicago
Congratulations, you’re engaged! Are you and your partner interested in pre-marital therapy? It can provide a great outlet for you and your partner to discuss how your values and upbringings will impact your future together. In addition to using pre-marital counseling to plan out your future, it can also be used to discuss the logistics of wedding planning and your engagement period, a time that may be more stressful and emotional than you have anticipated. Think about…
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Madissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor, Symmetry Counseling They say that trust is one of the most critical components in a romantic relationship; without trust what do you have? When trust is not present in a relationship, it tends to also lack other healthy components such as communication, vulnerability, intimacy, and security. It is important to establish trust early in a romantic relationship, however, trust can be rebuilt or improved at any time. Unfortunately, trust can be easily…
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Serious romantic relationships can be challenging enough, but when your significant other is in another city/state/country, the relationship can become challenging in a different kind of way. Whether your significant other is traveling for a week for work, or in the military for several months to a year, long distance can create strains on a relationship. However, the appropriate strategies and tips can help you cope with this long distance, especially when you truly do care about…
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Madissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor, Symmetry Counseling Those three little words, “I love you”, carry so much weight. While it may seem obvious to let someone know you love them, speaking those words doesn’t come easy to everyone. People experience love in many different forms and there are so many ways to express your love other than saying it. The most important thing is to express your love to your partner in some way, shape, or form.…
Read MoreWhen we start dating someone, we tend to feel what people call the “honeymoon” stage in which everything is perfect. Neither individual in the relationship can do anything wrong and everything is all rosy and perfect. Both partners are putting their first foot forward and are showing off their true colors. After a few months, partners start to argue or have differences. That is when the honeymoon stage is officially over. Being able to identify what your…
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We may have all heard of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, death, famine, war, and conquest; however, have you heard of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse for communication? According to Dr. John Gottman, the Four Horsemen are Criticism, Contempt, Defensiveness, and Stonewalling. He labeled these communication styles as the Four Horsemen, because research was able to predict the end of a relationship when these styles were being used in communication. As a therapist, I see…
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Madissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor, Symmetry Counseling Criticism, the first of Dr. John Gottman’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, has been shown to be one of the four highest predictors for divorce along with stonewalling, defensiveness, and contempt. Criticism plays its role in every relationship to some degree; however, there is a point where a significant amount of criticism takes a severe toll on a romantic relationship. In most cases, it starts out pretty minor and escalates…
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As a couple and family therapist, a common issue I experience is trust. I have heard about trust issues in couples that have only been together for a couple of months, and couples who have been together for several years. The issue of trust can range from not trusting your partner’s response to your hard day of work, to breaches of trust with infidelity. Although building trust may seem like a daunting task, it is definitely possible…
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No relationship is perfect, and that is okay! While every couple is completely unique in their own relationships, I find that there are some overlapping relationship challenges and themes I notice when working with couples. Every challenging part of a couple’s relationship can be a learning opportunity and an authentic way to bring them closer together. The first step is simply to acknowledge that there are going to be challenges in any relationship. It would be quite…
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Madissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor, Symmetry Counseling Think about that one couple you look up to the most. That couple that makes you think, “I want a relationship like that.” What qualities do they have that you admire? These qualities are most likely their bond, loyalty, commitment to each other, and the patience they have for one another. Patience is a crucial component to a happy and healthy relationship and is defined as the ability to tolerate…
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