Posts

A Thank You Letter

in , , , , ,

Time and again we are inspired by the couples we work with. The email Dr. Steve Brown received recently represents the best of what our mission and hope is for both our Northern Virginia communities and beyond.

Good marriage counseling is more than just helping couples deal with an immediate problem: it’s also about helping couples create relationships that take them into the future, like the one highlighted in this email.

Marriage counseling success stories like this are why we keep helping couples. We hope and trust that it will encourage and inspire you too…

“Dear Dr. Steve,

It’s been 2 weeks since you told us we didn’t need you anymore as our marriage counselor.  I wanted to fill you in on what has happened and to thank you once again for all of your help.

Two days after our last session, Jim and I went in for our 10-week ultrasound. We quickly found out that the baby no longer had a heartbeat and had stopped developing at about 8 and a half weeks. A year ago, news like this would have destroyed us. We were pretty excited to start parenting this new baby. I’m pretty sure there would have been a lot of fighting and blaming.

The first thing Jim did after hearing the news was to reach out for me. There was no anger, only shared grief. We went home and talked about how we felt and what we needed from each other.

I had to have surgery to remove the pregnancy and to collect tissue to send to a lab for analysis. Jim has done nothing but love and care for me through the whole process.

Jim has been amazing. Not once did he close himself off from me. He was open and honest and emotional in a positive way.

I need to thank you. Six months ago, I had a husband that didn’t want to be near me. With your help, you taught us how to communicate and support each other through even the most devastating situations. I’m eternally grateful to you.

We’ve had some time to grieve and are now looking forward to the next step in trying to conceive. Until we do have a baby, we are happy to have each other and Rebecca.

Thank you!

Monica”


Get Started

 

 

Healthy TEAM Parenting

in

A couple came to us last week with this challenge:

“We can’t agree on parenting. We were raised very differently. Many of our arguments center around different ways of raising our children, but we both feel very passionate about our reasons for parenting the way we do…”

We hear this all the time from parents with newborns all the way to parents of teenagers. We’re even beginning to see new challenges and tensions in parenting adult children, especially post-Covid.

Healthy TEAM Parenting
Healthy co-parenting is vital for a good marriage and for your child’s well-being. Research shows that one of the main causes of oppositional behavior in children is having two different parenting styles.

Think about it: What if you had to work for two different bosses every day, each of whom gave you very different instructions or requests? How confusing and frustrating that would be! How would you know how to operate? What was expected or allowed? What the (real) consequences or benefits would be?

The good news is there are tools and strategies you can implement so both of you are honored and respected.Parenting as a TEAM promotes healthy family identity, lowers the stress for all of you, and actually prevents bigger problems down the road.

This doesn’t require a 3 or 6 month commitment to therapy. Often in just 4 to 6 meetings we can show you what really works to make a great parenting team and customize tools you can implement immediately for your unique family situation.

Get started with us today to learn how we can help your relationship and your family…

Mary Baker, LPC has trained with renowned Family Therapist Louise Guerney and has developed a four to six week program to help couples form healthy and team-centered parental bonds.


Get Started