Couples Counseling in Marietta, GA
Call For A Free 20-Minute Consultation
Couples Counseling and Therapy in Marietta, GA
Call for a Free 20-Minute Consultation
Counseling Promotes Healthy Relationships
Even if you are deeply in love and mostly happy with your partner, relationships can be difficult, especially after the beginning of the relationship (see The Early Stage of Most Relationships). Over time, most relationships will more likely have some difficulty with communication, managing stress, conflict over differences, finances, unacceptable habits, affection, and/or intimacy. Studies have found that when both partners are willing to learn to become more respectful and accommodating, couples counseling (including premarital counseling) can provide the information and skills to produce a happier and more fulfilling relationship.
Dr. Joan Miller can offer a supportive environment and guide you in improving your relationship by your learning the skills to lessen power struggles, resolve your problems and restore emotional and physical intimacy.
What Is Couples Therapy?
Couples therapy is designed to foster open and considerate communication, identify expectations, promote mutual understanding and accommodation, and deepen intimacy. The goal of couples therapy is to identify the issues affecting your relationship and provide each partner with the necessary tools to create respect, healthier boundaries, habits, and dialogue.
Through careful and non-judgmental listening as well as insights from her over 40 years of experience helping couples, she can help you and your partner better understand each other and learn to become better partners. For more information, read Creating and Sustaining Relationships.
If you are struggling with your relationship and/or want to improve your relationship skills, contact Dr. Miller today for a complimentary consultation.
Call for a Free 20-Minute Consultation
Benefits Of Couples Counseling
Couples counseling can potentially have the great benefits listed below for your relationship as well as your own personal health and well-being. Dr. Miller can help you:
- Understand the assets and liabilities of you and your partner,
- Identify and help you make accommodation for your different values and beliefs,
- Identify sources of conflict, resentment and mistrust, and help you heal,
- Improve communication for resolving conflict and increasing intimacy,
- Eliminate unhealthy habits and dysfunctional behaviors that harm your relationship,
- Learn coping techniques and skills to build a better relationship,
- Manage reactivity and develop techniques to constructively resolve differences,
- Identify and resolve underlying issues like jealousy, lack of intimacy, co-dependency, infidelity, etc., and
- Reduce frustration and promote joy and happiness in your relationship.
What To Expect in Couples Counseling
The first step in couples counseling is to call for an initial phone consultation at 770-952-3308. During this call, I will answer your questions about therapy and describe the therapeutic process. If you decide to proceed, we will schedule weekly 50-minute sessions.
Before your first session, you will complete two brief questionnaires (see Client Forms) about yourself, your relationship, and your goals. As you proceed, you’ll additionally complete some assessments about your relationship, your preferences, your personality, your emotional responses, and your health and lifestyle.
These assessments will help me to better know you, your unique situation and your hopes and desires for the future. You will then create roadmaps for each of the two of you to follow. I’ll then support each of you in healing from any previous hurtful experiences, in becoming a better partner, in improving the relationship, and in creating a more satisfying relationship. I’ll encourage practicing your newly learned skills between sessions.
If you and your partner are ready to take the steps necessary to build a stronger relationship, contact me today at 770-952-3308 so you can begin restoring joy in your relationship.
Call for a Free 20-Minute Consultation
Call Today for a Free 20-Minute Consultation
Frequently Asked Questions About Couples Counseling
These are some of the most frequently asked questions that I hear people asking about couples therapy and counseling.
When both partners are open and willing to becoming the best partner that they can be, couples counseling can be very effective. The counseling is designed to help partners become more respectful, communicate more effectively, validate each other, take responsibility for one’s actions, decrease negative reactivity, resolve conflicts, increase affection, and build a stronger relationship. Research shows that couples who participate together in the counseling process are more likely to stay together than those who do not receive counseling.
Anyone who is unhappy in their relationship and is open to making the changes essential to creating a compassionate and respectful relationship can benefit from relationship counseling. However, in most cases it is necessary for both partners to be in counseling together to simultaneously learn to reduce negative reactivity, improve communication, validate each other, negotiate, resolve differences and make accommodations for each other.
The length of counseling varies with each couple and with the specific goals each couple has. The length depends on what relationship experiences each person has had previously, how damaged the relationship has become, the personalities of each partner, current coping strategies, and how willing and able each partner is to learn to become a more loving and effective partner. As couples near the end of therapy, it’s usual for couples to spread out their sessions.
Costs vary depending on the therapist’s education, experience and location. The average cost of couples counseling in Georgia ranges from about $85 to $350 per 50-minute session. Most couples recognize that premarital and couples counseling is an investment in themselves as well as the future of their relationship.
Some insurance companies cover some of the cost of Marriage Counseling. But most insurance companies don’t cover Couples Counseling for unmarried couples. If you’re considering using your insurance, you might want to check with the Customer Service or Benefits department of your insurance company.
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Meet Dr. Joan Miller
“I'm passionate about helping couples and individuals increase their happiness. I look forward to helping you clarify your issues, make healthier decisions, improve your relationships, and take positive actions to create a loving and fulfilling relationship.” - Joan Miller, Ph.D.
Dr. Miller has practiced as a Licensed Psychologist in Marietta, GA for over 40 years. During that time, she has assisted hundreds of individuals and couples to overcome adversity, reduce distress, improve their relationships, learn better coping strategies, make healthier decisions, and take positive action to create more satisfying lives.
For more information about Dr. Miller, read Dr. Joan Miller’s Background. For information about her practice (including directions to the office), read Practice Information.
You’ll find useful articles and books under the Self-Help section. For answers to general questions about therapy, read the FAQ section.
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Additional Counseling Service by Dr. Miller in Cobb County
Marriage Counseling
Many couples are not happy in their marriage, with the most common complaint being an inability to amicably resolve their differences. They frequently will either continuously argue, or they will not talk about issues. Both strategies lead to resentment and bitterness. Therapy can help couples learn to listen carefully, validate each other, and negotiate a mutually acceptable resolution. Research shows that marriage counseling usually significantly improves the chances that a couple will stay together.
Individual Counseling
For individuals who are struggling with issues such as frustration, anxiety, irritation, depression, or relationship issues, Dr. Joan Miller provides a supportive environment where individuals can understand themselves better, improve their relationships with themselves, overcome adversity, reduce distress, learn more effective coping skills, clarify their goals, improve their relationships, improve their relationships with others, make positive changes in their lives, and have more enjoyment.
My office is located in the Doctors' Building at 2520 Windy Hill Road, Suite 106, Marietta, GA 30067. This building is located to the right of the WellStar Windy Hill Hospital, one mile north of I-285, 1/2 mile west of I-75, and one mile east of Highway 41 (Cobb Parkway). Click Here For Directions.
770-651-0753