We provide couples therapy for all types of couples, traditional couples, married couples, life long partners, same-sex couples.  

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The focus of couples therapy is to figure out which patterns are working well and which patterns are causing problems and work together to alter the unhelpful patterns in how the individuals relate to each other. Sometimes issues within the couple relationships are not only due to unhelpful ways of relating to each other; they are due to problems that exist within a specific person. When there are problems that an individual needs to address, we refer that person for individual therapy to assist him/her in addressing those issues, and we continue to address the problems within the couple relationship.

 

We use a client-centered approach, which means we use our extensive training and experience to customize the treatment of couples to meet the couple’s unique challenges and needs. We incorporate many different techniques and models of therapy to create a custom combination of tools, ideas, support, and guidance. We continually assess the needs of the couple and our interventions change as necessary to meet those ever-changing needs.

 

In couple’s therapy, the couple works with a therapy team, including a licensed mental health counselor, a certified equine professional, and at least one horse. The couple chooses at least one horse from our herd of eleven horses. The majority of sessions are conducted outdoors with the horses, but some sessions will be in the office without the horses.

 

Working with horses provides a couple the opportunity to work on the same issues/problems that a couple would work on in an office setting, with the immediate feedback of a horse partner to help the couple identify challenges, and change old ways of relating, thinking and being. Each member of the couple is responsible for his/her actions and the changes he/she decides to make.

 

Sometimes, when life is hard, we try to control people and events in our lives to help us feel better. When we do this, it causes harm to us and our relationships. At PCR we believe that individuals are only responsible for how they are in the moment, and can only change themselves, the way they think, and behave with themselves and others. That does not mean that individuals have permission to say anything they want to say or to do anything they want to do. What this means is that an individual cannot control how another person sees a situation or how someone else is being in the moment. However, how a person sees us or how that person acts towards us is important to us and to our relationship with that person.

 

So, when there is a conflict between a couple, each member of the couple is responsible for listening deeply to the other, seeing each other, and responding to each other in a way that builds connection between them. In services, at PCR we help couples understand and apply the principles of healthy relationships and begin to lead lives of connection with one another.

Contact us for a phone consult to find out if our couples therapy services are right for you.