Being in a long-term, committed relationship can be one of the most satisfying parts of life.  Unfortunately, it can also be one of the most complicated and challenging.  All couples face a variety of challenges.  This can include the stress of every day life, mortgages, careers, and children.  All of this can get in the way of feeling in love, of truly being a couple.  At Whitson Family Therapy, we want you to design the life you truly want to live.  If you are part of a couple, to do this it is imperative to have a healthy relationship.  This is why we offer a variety of services designed to meet the needs of couples.

• Couple’s/ Marriage Counseling:  Falling in love is easy, staying in love can be much more complicated.  If you find yourself having difficulty in your relationship, you are not alone.  It is important to seek help sooner rather than later.  The longer needs go unmet, the more difficult it can be to find your way back to feeling satisfied and fulfilled.  The challenges of career, finances, children, and the hustle and bustle of every day life can and often does interfere with a couple being a couple.  Couple’s therapy can help.  It can teach the skills necessary to develop better communication techniques and learn to get the most out of your relationship. 
• Military Services:  Being a military couple makes the challenges of marriage even more complicated.  Dealing with frequent moves, separation from each other, adjusting to being apart and then being together, single parenting during deployment, and the stress of military life can all be overwhelming.  Couple’s therapy with a therapist who understands these stressors can make a huge difference in all of the adjustments that must be made to make this unique situation a success.
• Substance Abuse:  One of the biggest destroyers of marriages is a substance abuse problem.  It can increase conflict in the marriage and can tear a couple apart.  It is often associated with depression and other psychological concerns, for both the substance abuser and for the spouse.  If substance abuse is an issue in your marriage, it is important to seek professional help as soon as possible.  It is critical not only for the substance abuser to seek treatment, but the spouse as well.  This will greatly increase the chances of ongoing sobriety and will help develop healthier interactions in the relationship that will support a sober lifestyle.
• Co-Parenting:  For the divorced/ divorcing couple, it is often challenging to come together regarding the children.  There are many emotions involved and there may be differing views on parenting issues.  Co-parenting can help such couples learn how to communicate and deal with the children during or after a divorce in a manner that is in the best interest of the children.
• Parenting Classes:  While children are such a blessing, they are also one of the biggest stressors in a relationship.  Many parents argue over parenting issues and differing philosophies.  Often the stress of conflict with children causes tension in the marital relationship.  We offer Becoming a Love and Logic Parent®, a phenomenal class that has been changing lives and families since 1977.  It offers parents not only a philosophy on parenting, but also many specific techniques as well.  We find that it helps parents who have different parenting philosophies come together in a way that allows them to embrace the concepts and begin working as a team to raise their children.