Wondering if couples therapy can help your relationship?
- Are you unsure about the direction your relationship is going?
- Do you worry that your partner doesn’t really understand or appreciate you?
- Have you found yourselves fighting more frequently?
- Do you desire more intimacy and romance, but struggle to find it?
For many seeking relationship help, terms such as “couples therapy” or “marriage counseling” carry a negative connotation. Just the idea of it may make you feel anxious, confused, or even embarrassed. At New Connections Counseling Center, our therapists view the decision to pursue couples therapy as an opportunity to strengthen and deepen your connection with your partner. Furthermore, it would be our privilege to provide you and your partner with a result-oriented, active approach to help you address your unique issues.
Common Reasons Couples Begin Marriage Counseling in Baltimore, MD
- Intimacy
- Separation and divorce
- Infertility
- Relationships with extended family
- Parenting
- Remarriage
- Infidelity
Our Approach to Marriage Counseling and Couples Therapy
The couples therapists at our Baltimore-based counseling center use a unique blend of Imago and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to work with couples.
Imago Relationship Therapy
Imago relationship therapy is a highly effective form of couples therapy. In fact, it has positively impacted thousands of couples around the world.
The term “Imago” refers to the unique image each person has from their earliest experiences with a primary care provider. From these early experiences, you learn what love is. Further, you learn how to receive love and how to show love. In fact, one’s individual Imago is often unconscious and not understood. So, in Imago therapy, you see how each partner’s Imago is brought out when they are emotionally triggered. The closer you become to your partner, the more emotionally vulnerable you both become. Sometimes, you may sense old relationship wounds coming to the surface. This often leads to unhelpful behavioral and communication patterns with partners and over time, you don’t know how to repair it.
The Imago Dialogue will help you gain a deeper understanding of what your partner is experiencing, feeling, and perceiving, and why. Above all, in Imago, you do not mirror synthetic empathy for your partner. Instead, you embody a genuine and compassionate understanding for the person your partner truly is.
Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples
Furthermore, it has helped us understand the nature of loving relationships and family bonds. Attachment theory views human beings as relational, social, and wired for intimate bonding with others. The EFT model prioritizes emotions and emotional regulation as key parts of individuals’ experiences and key relationship interactions
How EFT Helps
EFT believes that feeling connected to and loved by your partner is a primary need. When you fight with your partner, that feeling of love and connection can disappear. This may feel scary and alarming!
Think of a fight like an iceberg. Part of it is visible, but the vast majority lies underneath the surface. For example, the topic of the fight is like the tip of the iceberg. So, underneath the tip are the real issues. Concerns may be:
- “Am I safe with you?”
- “Am I special to you?”
- “Will you stick around if we disagree?”
EFT also helps you recognize that if you don’t feel safe in your relationship, there are two main ways you will respond:
- Attacking- you get angry, criticize, and raise your voice
- Withdrawing – you get quiet, turn away, and give the cold shoulder.
Does this sound familiar? If pursuing or withdrawing is happening in your relationship, don’t be alarmed. In fact, it’s normal to deal with relationship tension in these ways. The key is to realize that you really want love and connection with your partner. And, pursuing or withdrawing often don’t accomplish that.
EFT believes that the strategies of pursuing and withdrawing happen within a cycle. When things aren’t going well, your interactions become a negative cycle that can spin out of control. The first step is to identify and name this cycle before it starts eating you up.
Begin Couples Counseling in Baltimore, MD
You don’t have to live with an unsatisfying relationship. Or a high-conflict relationship. Marriage counseling and couples therapy can help you improve your relationship. In fact, you can do couples therapy online or in-person for added convenience. Our couples therapists would be honored to help you and your partner reconnect. To begin, follow these simple steps:
- Reach out to us using our appointment request form.
- Get connected with one of our inclusive couples therapists.
- Begin feeling more in-tune with your partner than ever before.
Other Services at
New Connections Counseling Center
Along with marriage counseling and couples therapy, our Baltimore-based counseling center offers individual relationship counseling and LGBTQ therapy. Our skilled therapists specialize in many therapies including those specifically for men, women, and college students. Further, if you have found yourself in the midst of a major life transition, our counselors would love to walk alongside you in that. And, we can meet with you wherever you are in Maryland with online therapy. Wherever you are at in life, our inclusive therapists want to help.
Blog posts for Couples
How to Stop Cheating? When You’ve Created the Rupture
Do you want to know how to stop yourself from cheating? Or prevent it from happening in the future? Check out 3 questions to help you and your partner(s) move forward from infidelity. For our purposes, I’ll define “cheating” or infidelity as any breaking of emotional,...
How to Move Forward from Infidelity? With and Without Them
Y’all. This is a heavy topic and will come in two parts. For the injured and the partner(s) who engaged in infidelity. This post is for the injured, who are looking to move forward from infidelity. If you are the one who cheated, we recommend you to read part two of...
How Does Depression Affect Relationships?
We all know how mood can impact our relationships. When we feel frustrated at work or are facing other problems in our lives, that can affect the way we interact with those around us. What about when we are struggling with something severe and persistent? How does...