Every relationship experiences challenges, and sometimes those challenges require professional guidance to overcome. Couples counseling and marriage therapy can provide the tools and support necessary to address ongoing conflicts, improve communication, and restore emotional intimacy. I specialize in helping couples navigate their difficulties, whether they’re facing communication issues, trust problems, infidelity, emotional gridlock, or major life transitions.
In my work with couples, I help partners navigate the emotional reactivity and anxiety that often fuel disconnection and conflict. I focus on strengthening each person’s capacity for differentiation—the ability to stay grounded in oneself while remaining emotionally connected to the other. This means learning how to tolerate discomfort, manage triggers without shutting down or lashing out, and communicate more clearly without needing to control or appease.
Together, we look at how anxiety shows up in the relationship—whether through blame, withdrawal, criticism, or caretaking—and how it can mask deeper longings or fears. My goal is to help each partner build the emotional strength and self-awareness needed to relate from a place of authenticity, not anxiety. This kind of growth not only improves emotional and physical intimacy, but also fosters greater personal integrity and freedom.
Who Can Benefit from Couples Counseling and Marriage Therapy?
Couples counseling is for anyone in a romantic partnership or marriage who is struggling with emotional distance, conflict, or relationship dissatisfaction. Whether you’re in a long-term marriage or dating someone new, therapy can help.
Common reasons couples seek therapy include:
- Communication Breakdowns: Communication is the cornerstone of any relationship. When communication becomes ineffective—whether through arguing, withdrawing, or misunderstanding—it can lead to significant frustration and emotional pain. Couples therapy helps partners develop better communication skills, allowing them to understand each other’s needs and express their feelings more clearly.
- Trust Issues: Trust is essential in any relationship, but it can be difficult to rebuild once it’s been broken. Whether due to infidelity, secrecy, or broken promises, trust issues can create lasting tension between partners. Couples therapy provides a space to address these issues, rebuild trust, and set healthy boundaries moving forward.
- Conflict Resolution: Every couple faces disagreements, but it’s how those conflicts are handled that determines the strength of the relationship. Couples therapy helps partners learn healthy conflict resolution skills so that arguments don’t escalate and lead to resentment or disengagement.
- Emotional Distance: Over time, couples may begin to feel emotionally distant or disconnected from each other. This can result from life changes, parenting responsibilities, or unaddressed issues in the relationship. Couples therapy helps partners reconnect on a deeper emotional level and reignite intimacy and affection.
- Major Life Transitions: Transitions such as having children, moving to a new place, or facing financial strain can challenge the dynamic of a relationship. Couples therapy can help navigate these changes by supporting both partners through the stress and maintaining the connection between them.
What to Expect from Couples Counseling and Marriage Therapy
In couples therapy, both partners are encouraged to actively participate in the therapeutic process. The goal is to create a safe, nonjudgmental space where both individuals can express their concerns and work collaboratively to address the issues at hand. Here’s what you can expect when you begin couples therapy with me:
1. Initial Assessment and Goal Setting
Our first four sessions will involve an in-depth discussion about the relationship and the specific issues you’re facing. Both partners will have the opportunity to share their perspectives, and I’ll help identify the key areas that need attention. Together, we’ll set goals for therapy, such as improving communication, resolving conflict, or rebuilding trust.
2. Tailored Treatment Plan
Based on our initial assessment, I’ll develop a personalized treatment plan that addresses your specific concerns. Therapy will be focused on your goals, whether that’s learning better communication strategies, developing healthier patterns of conflict resolution, or rebuilding emotional intimacy.
3. Focus on Strengthening Communication
Effective communication is essential for a healthy relationship, and that’s a primary focus in couples therapy. We’ll work on developing active listening skills, empathy, and emotional expression. You’ll learn how to approach each other’s concerns with understanding, rather than defensiveness, and create a dialogue that fosters mutual respect.
4. Tools for Conflict Resolution
Every relationship faces conflict, but it’s how conflicts are handled that determines the future of the relationship. Through couples therapy, you will learn to manage disagreements constructively, practice techniques for calming emotional responses, and engage in productive discussions that lead to resolution rather than escalation.
5. Building Trust and Emotional Intimacy
Rebuilding trust and creating emotional intimacy are key aspects of couples therapy, especially for couples who have experienced betrayal, miscommunication, or other relational wounds. Together, we’ll explore the factors that contributed to a breakdown in trust and work on strategies for rebuilding a foundation of mutual respect, honesty, and vulnerability.
The Therapeutic Approach I Use
When it comes to couples therapy, I take a holistic and client-centered approach. I firmly believe that relationships are dynamic and unique to each couple, and therapy should reflect that.
I utilize a variety of techniques and frameworks to best support each couple’s needs, including:
- The Gottman Method: The Gottman Method focuses on improving communication, enhancing emotional connection, and resolving conflicts. I incorporate this method to help couples strengthen their relationship foundation, learn practical skills, and nurture deeper emotional intimacy. Key tools include the Four Horsemen (negative communication patterns) and exercises to foster positive interactions.
- Psychodynamic Therapy: Psychodynamic therapy brings awareness and insight into current patterns and obstacles by understanding the origins of who we are in relation to others. This process highlights how past experiences, especially childhood interpersonal patterns, influence current relationship dynamics. By gaining insight into these unconscious patterns, couples can begin to resolve longstanding relational issues.
- Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT): EFT focuses on the underlying core feelings that may not be obvious to either partner in moments of emotional gridlock. By exploring emotional processes and identifying needs and wants in moments of emotional gridlock, couples can move out of their cyclical arguments and into a more empathic and collaborative dance.
- The Crucible Approach to Sex and Intimacy: Based on the pioneering work of the late Dr. David Schnarch on differentiation and sex and intimacy in marriage.
Why Choose Couples Therapy with Dr. Stefanie Mazer, Psy.D.?
If you are feeling stuck in your relationship or marriage, couples therapy can provide you with the tools and guidance you need to reconnect and move forward.
Here are a few reasons why couples therapy with me is an effective choice:
- Expertise and Experience: With years of experience working with couples, I understand the complexities of relationships and can offer evidence-based processes and tools to help you navigate through confusing and painful times.
- Compassionate, Professional Care: I offer a safe, nonjudgmental space where both partners can feel heard, valued, and supported.
- Tailored Approach: I tailor every aspect of therapy to the unique needs of each couple.
Ready to Strengthen Your Relationship?
If you and your partner are facing challenges in your relationship, I’m here to help. Together, we can work toward improving communication, rebuilding trust, and creating a deeper emotional connection.
📞 Call us: (561) 414-2144
🖥️ Book Online: Free 15-minute Consultation
📩 Email us: stefanie@drstefaniemazer.com
Contact us today
for your free consultation.
for your free consultation.