Relationship, Couples or Marriage Counseling in Salem Oregon

While individual therapy is often essential to discovering and resolving personal dysfunctional and trauma-based patterns responsible for anxiety and depression, coming in with your partner to work on relationship issues is extremely helpful. Communication difficulties are often a result of old patterning internalized from parents and your family of origin that often is responsible for ongoing issues in your current relationships. Sometimes we attract a partner who personifies the most reviled characteristics of one or both of our parents that were most difficult to deal with. For example, it is common for someone who grew up with an angry and controlling parent to find himself or herself with an angry and controlling partner or spouse. This can be most frustrating and if not understood and worked on within the context of relationship, you may find yourself in serial relationships, going from one person to another, continually repeating the frustrating and unfulfilling relational pattern. Learning about your personality tendencies along with your partner’s can often be very healing, providing the foundation for enhanced interpersonal communication. Additionally, learning how to set firm boundaries is the first step for taking care of yourself in a relationship, a must for knowing what you want and feeling safe to express that to your partner.