SERVICES
Marital, Couples, Family & Relationship Counseling
preferentially provided as
Collaborative Couples Counseling
In Collaborative Couples Counseling, Dr. Pazdral teams with an experienced female therapist associate, Ann McIntosh, MA, LCSW, to provide a highly effective form of couples counseling. They meet with both members of the couple (four people in the therapy room) simultaneously. Collaborative couples therapy helps eliminate gender bias and concerns that occur with only one therapist.
Whether you characterize your needs as “marriage counseling,” “couples counseling,” “relationship therapy,” or “marital therapy,” Dr. Pazdral and Ms. McIntosh will work with you and your spouse or committed significant other, including GLBT clients.
This collaborative model has worked successfully in all levels of couples’ difficulties:
Promoting new evolution and growth within healthy relationships;
Assisting premarital relationships;
Addressing the prevention of relationship dissolution; and
Assisting urgent pre-divorce difficulties.
One of our usual goals is to rekindle trust and affection. Through each session, our goal is to bring about positive change. All aspects of a relationship are open for discussion, including: restoring friendship, respect, civility, mutuality, the repair of trust and loyalty, communication and affection; sexual issues, parenting, financial conflicts, emotional interactions; assisting with extended family conflict, substance abuse and similar addiction issues.
We hope to open the doors to communication. Collaborative Couples Counseling works best when there is an evolving level of trust and wide-open communication, feedback and interaction. Efforts our clients make to put insight into action also enable and improve success. Homework and practical pointers are given at most sessions when the couple is fully engaged in treatment. Collaborative Couples Counseling succeeds for relationships that need only minimal improvement and redirection, as well as relationships requiring rescue-level intervention.
We want you to understand the treatment framework and treatment intensity necessary for real, permanent and meaningful change. The first few sessions allow us to hear each of your stories and concerns, and understand what particular changes you desire. You are also evaluating us during this period to determine whether you wish to work with us. We usually advise clients to commit to three months of weekly sessions or six months of twice-monthly sessions. We are sensitive to the expense this entails in time and dollars. However, anything less does not offer realistic possibilities for permanent change. We are strongly focused on promoting therapy efforts that are intense enough to provide real, definite and permanent changes in the couples function and interactions. We have highly interactive styles and vigorously attempt to move therapy forward as rapidly as tolerated to achieve the changes you desire.