Marital and Premarital Therapy
Broken Marriage? Beginning Marriage? We can help.
Is your marriage in trouble? Have resentments built up over the years? Are you beginning a marriage and worried about what could damage your bond? We can help you restore your marriage and uncover any risks to an impending marriage.
How We Can Help With:
Preparing for Marriage
When a couple is preparing for marriage, lots of issues and questions can crop up and lead to conflict. At Cherry Hill, we can help you come to agreements about your future together by leading discussions about finances, children, housing, faith, and more. We will also help you develop coping mechanisms to deal with stress leading up to the wedding day. Here are some theories and interventions we use to help prepare couples for marriage:
Theoretic Approaches
- Family Systems Therapy
- Emotion-Focused Therapy
- Interpersonal Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Cognitive Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Interventions
- Prepare/Enrich Testing
- Education on healthy marriage
- Assessment of values and marriage roles
- Communication skills
- Fair fighting and conflict management
- Listening skills
- Education on sex in marriage
- Life skills (managing a household, finances, etc.)
Excessive Fighting
Disagreements are warranted in every relationship, but that doesn’t make them pleasant. If you feel as though you’re experiencing excessive fighting with your partner, the therapists at Cherry Hill can help. We’ll help you walk through feelings of stress, anxiety, and miscommunication that often lead to excessive fighting in relationships. Here are a few theories and interventions we use to calm disagreements between partners who are experiencing excessive fighting:
Theoretic Approaches
- Emotion-Focused Therapy
- Solution Focused Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Family Systems Therapy
- Interpersonal Therapy
- Cognitive Therapy
- Hope Centered Marriage Therapy
Interventions
- Fair fighting rules
- Communication skills
- Identifying negative interactional cycles
- Facilitating a deeper expression of emotions and needs
- Win-Win conflict management
- Listening skills
- Emotional regulation skills
- Promoting acceptance
- Role-playing
Communication Problems
Almost all conflicts between partners involve communication problems. It’s very easy to misunderstand your partner, especially when juggling other stressors such as work, children, and other social relationships. At Cherry Hill, we can help you tackle communication problems in your relationship by identifying the factors that are contributing to the miscommunication, which can include stress, trauma, lack of insight, inaccurate assumptions, or secrecy. Here are some theories and interventions we use to help couples resolve their communication problems:
Theoretic Approaches
- Emotion-Focused Therapy
- Interpersonal Therapy
- Family Systems Therapy
- Cognitive Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Hope Centered Marriage Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Behavior Therapy
Interventions
- Communication skills
- Identifying negative interactional cycles
- Facilitating a deeper expression of emotions and needs
- “No talk” communication skills
- Listening skills
- Emotional regulation skills
- Fair fighting rules
- Assertiveness training
- Identifying cognitive distortions
Infidelity
When a couple is dealing with an act of infidelity, one or both partners can feel confused and betrayed. Cheating means different things to different people, but we can help you get to the bottom of your feelings. If you’re experiencing feelings of confusion, stress, anger, sadness, and resentment as a result of an act of infidelity, you are not alone. We use many theories and interventions to help couples recover from infidelity at Cherry Hill, including:
Theoretic Approaches
- Emotion-Focused Therapy
- Solution Focused Therapy
- Interpersonal Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Family Systems Therapy
- Hope Centered Marriage Therapy
- Cognitive Therapy
Interventions
- Communication skills
- Facilitating deeper expression of emotions and needs
- Identifying negative interactional cycles
- Fair fighting rules
- Emotional regulation skills
- Conflict resolution skills
- Listening skills
Spousal Abuse
If you are feeling controlled or manipulated by your partner, threatened, or physically harmed, you may be experiencing spousal abuse—but you are not alone. The therapists at Cherry Hill will help you and your partner understand the reasons for the abuse and how to maintain a healthy relationship in recovery. These are a few theories and interventions we use to tackle the issue of spousal abuse:
Theoretic Approaches
- Theoretical Approaches
- Emotion-Focused Therapy
- Solution Focused Therapy
- Interpersonal Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Family Systems Therapy
- Hope Centered Marriage Therapy
- Cognitive Therapy
Interventions
- Safety Evaluation and planning
- Safety Referrals (shelters, police intervention, etc.)
- Communication skills
- Facilitating a deeper expression of emotions and needs
- Emotional regulation skills
- Fair fighting rules
- Identifying negative interactional cycles
- Promoting acceptance
Sexual Dysfunction
There are so many reasons that sexual dysfunction can arise in a relationship. Sexual dysfunction is often a physical reaction to a psychological issue such as stress, anxiety, depression, mistrust and lack of self-confidence. There are also underlying physical causes for sexual dysfunction. Whatever the issue, we at Cherry Hill can help you and your partner sort through the reasons why you may be experiencing sexual dysfunction in your relationship.
Theoretic Approaches
- Emotion-Focused Therapy
- Interpersonal Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Strategic Therapy
- Behavior Therapy
- Cognitive Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Behavior Therapy
Interventions
- Communication skills
- Facilitating a deeper expression of emotions and needs
- Identifying negative interactional cycles
- Sex education
- Assertiveness training
- Non-verbal communication
- Listening skills
- Emotional regulation skills
- Identifying false beliefs about sex
Disconnected Relationship
You are together, but feel so alone. There no longer seems to be a connection, let alone a spark. You are not even certain you love your partner. Or perhaps, you yearn for more, but your partner is unresponsive. You may be fantasizing, considering other options, other people. Relationships require work to keep them alive and growing. The stress of jobs and children leave little time for spontaneity, passion, recreation, sex or, most importantly, emotional connection. Cherry Hill Counseling has therapists who specialize in intimate couple relationships with training in therapy that restructures the emotional bond facilitating responsiveness and engagement.
Theoretic Approaches
- Emotion-focused Therapy
- Solution Focused Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Family Systems Therapy
- Interpersonal Therapy
- Cognitive Therapy
Interventions
- Identifying the negative interactional cycle and attachment issues.
- Accessing primary emotions, fears and needs.
- Facilitating a deeper expression of emotions and needs.
- Promoting acceptance
- Creating open emotional engagement
- Facilitating problem-solving
Abuse History Impacting Intimacy
Childhood and adult abuse has been discovered to impact entire societies and economies in never before realized devastation. Marriage is one of the institutions profoundly impacted by the scars and defenses abuse by others brings out in individuals. Dr Barshing’s book on abuse and marriage, Haunted Marriage, demonstrates the commitment of Cherry Hill counselors to helping untangle the defenses and day to day problems of couples whose marriages grapple with past and present abuse.
Theoretic Approaches
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Hope Centered Marriage Therapy
- Family Systems Theory
- Mindfulness Philosophy
- Systematic Desensitization
- Distress Tolerance Skills
Interventions
- Uncovering talk therapy
- Anger management
- Emotional regulation skills
- Fair fighting rules
- Win-Win conflict management
- Hypnosis, Relaxation and Visualization
- Inner healing prayer
- Trauma release role-playing
Addictions
If you or someone you love has expressed concern about your drinking, drug, or other habits, the best thing you can do is talk to a professional. When dependence develops, relationships suffer, responsibilities get neglected and serious health issues can arise. At Cherry Hill, we can help you discuss this difficult topic and work together to find the underlying causes. We’ll use some of the following theories and interventions to determine why you may have a problem with addiction:
Theoretic Approaches
- Motivational Interviewing
- Cognitive-Behavior Therapy
- Family Therapy
- Mindfulness
- Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy
- Gestalt Therapy
- Existential Therapy
Interventions
- Substance Use Assessments
- Behavioral Assessments
- 12 Step Work
- Community Reinforcement Approach
- Contingency Management
- Nutritional and Exercise Guidance
- Co-dependency Education and Support
Considering Divorce or Separation
Coming to terms with relationship issues is never easy. If you’re considering divorce or separation, you may feel like you have exhausted all of your options to ‘make it work.’ At Cherry Hill, we acknowledge that sometimes separating is the best option for you, but we also want to help you work through all the issues that have led you to this place as well as help you face your impending separation or divorce in a healthy, connected way. Here are some theories and interventions we use for couples who are considering divorce or separation:
Theoretic Approaches
- Emotion-Focused Therapy
- Solution Focused Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Family Systems Therapy
- Interpersonal Therapy
- Cognitive Therapy
- Hope Centered Marriage Therapy
Interventions
- Fair fighting rules
- Communication skills
- Identifying negative interactional cycles
- Facilitating a deeper expression of emotions and needs
- Win-Win conflict management
- Listening skills
- Emotional regulation skills
- Promoting acceptance
- Role-playing
What You Can Expect In Your Session
- Recognition of and solutions for relational problems before you walk down the aisle
- Insight into your current problems in your marriage
- Skills to improve your communication, listening, expression of feelings and conflict management
- Ways to deepen your relationship together along with practical solutions for common marital issues
Groups We Offer
We are taking suggestions for group topics at this time. Please let your therapist know if you’d like to participate in a group therapy session or workshop about a specific focus area.
Blog Articles
Helpful Links
- National Healthy Marriage Resource Center
- Smart Marriages: The Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education
- The Couple Connection
- Love is Respect
- National Healthy Marriage Resource Center
- Marriage Gems
- Love and Life Toolbox
- Psychcentral
- Psychology Today
- PsyBlog
- American Psychological Association
- National Institute of Mental Health
- National Alliance on Mental Illness
- Mayo Clinic
- Association for Behavioral Analysis
- Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
- Anxiety Disorders Association of America
- Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress
- Gateway to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Information
- Obsessive Compulsive Foundation
- Social Service Agency of Lake County