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Couples on
the Brink
8551 Sunrise Blvd.
Suite 206
Plantation Florida, 33322
954-660-7272
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Internet services
provided by:
MRG Design
©Copyright 2008,
Couples on the Brink, all rights reserved.
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1. How is Couples on
the Brink different from
traditional couples or
marriage counseling?
Traditional couples
counseling by
experienced clinicians
can be quite effective.
However it also has many
limitations-- like only hour
long sessions once a
week. In our experience,
this is not enough to
help couples in serious
relationship distress.
That is why we schedule
2-3 Day (12 hours)
intensives. We find that
we can more easily get
to the core issues and
begin resolution with
the added time and
intensity. After years
of doing traditional
couples counseling, we
have found there is no
comparison to the
dramatic changes that
can be made during our
intensives. This results
because putting in the
extra time required in
an intensive forces
couples out of their
comfort zone. Our
approach is also
multi-modal--utilizing
male-female co-therapy
teams, relationship
coaching, and team
consultations. In
addition, our approach
is different because
treatment is tailored to
your specific
relationship needs. One
way we do this is to
match you with a
therapist with extensive
experience with your
particular issues. For
example, we have
therapists that
specialize in areas like
communication, anger
management, addiction,
sexual issues and many
others.
2. What experience do COB
therapists have?
Our clinicians are
Licensed Marriage &
Family Therapists, and
registered with the
state of Florida
Department of Business
and Professional
Regulation. We only
choose clinical staff
with extensive
educational and
experiential training in
doing intensive couples therapy.
Many mental health
practitioners practicing
today say they work with
couples. This is not
illegal or unethical,
however, unless their
graduate and
postgraduate training is
specifically in couples
work, they will be
ineffective with high
conflict couples and
people in relationship
crisis. Without proper
training, they will lack
the knowledge and
necessary tools needed
to work with couples in
distress. They are also
more apt to view severe
relationship problems as
unending and hopeless
and therefore more
likely to recommend
splitting up.
3. What style of therapy do
COB therapists practice?
Our clinicians are
trained to work with
couples from a
strength-based
perspective. What this
means is that in even
the most desperate of
circumstances, there are
strengths and resources
that can be built upon
to make important
changes. Typically, our
focus is in the here and
now, helping people
relate to one another
differently from the
start. This has an
immediate positive
impact. We also explore
at length your current
interactional patterns
and suggest
possibilities for
differences to occur. Finally, we believe no
two couples are
exactly the same and we
design our intervention
plans based on each
couples’ individual
needs.
4. How do I know if you
can help with our
specific problems?
When you've worked doing
couples work as long as
we have, there isn't
much you don't get to
see. Tailored treatment
means that we take the
time to assess exactly
what you relationship
needs. For examples of
some of our more common
treatment programs,
Click Here.
Although specific issues
are important, we have
found that couples in
distress have certain
identifying
characteristics. For
example, the people we
see are frustrated,
angry, depressed, are
losing or have lost
hope, and usually have
different ideas from
their partner about what
if anything needs to
happen in their
relationship. In our
experience, many couples
break up just before a
major changes are
possible. The potential
for positive change
really does occur after
hitting bottom. It is
unfortunate that many
couples choose to end
their relationship just
prior to witnessing a
positive transformation.
5. Do you accept
insurance?
No. Here is why:
Health
Insurance generally will
not pay for couples
counseling unless your
therapist diagnoses you
or your spouse with a
mental disorder. If you
see a marriage counselor
who uses your insurance,
you can be certain that
you or your partner
(sometimes both!) have
been diagnosed with a
mental disorder. This
can stay on your record
for years to come and
may prevent you from
obtaining a job or
qualifying for other
types of insurance.
Also, if you really do
not have a mental
disorder, but it's been
diagnosed just to
collect insurance, your
insurance company may
challenge the diagnosis
leaving you responsible
for the bill. It's just
not worth the risk.
6. Why do we
recommend such an
intensive approach?
We have found that for
couples that are really
struggling, the greatest
chance of success exists
when people are willing
to make a commitment of
time and resources to
working on their
relationship. Rarely is
one or two hours of
intervention helpful.
Deciding to commit to a
an
intensive
lets both partners know
that they are willing to
give a substantial
effort to working things
out. Also, keep in mind
that in addition to
meeting with your
therapist or co-therapy
team, you also get the
benefit of an
experiential
relationship coach.
This is a significant
part of our success with
couples. Our
relationship coaches
work with you through
nonverbal exercises in
order to remove barriers
and connect with one
another in very
important ways. In
addition, we also make
use of team
consultations. For
part of your intensive,
you will get the
perspectives and
observations of a team
of relationship experts
dedicated to helping you
move forward in your
relationship. We also
provide unlimited
e-mail support after
your intensive as well
as a therapeutic summary
document
to reinforce the gains
made in your intensive.
7. Can we pay by the
hour?
Yes, but we have found the
greatest gains are made
when couples make a
commitment to each other
and to the process of
getting help. Hourly
therapy is good for
minor problems and
issues. However, we find
that couples in crisis
or with years of
conflict are generally
not helped by hourly
approaches to help. We can't
overstate the
effectiveness of getting
out your comfort zone
and committing to the
process of getting help.
8. Do you have
experience with gay
couples?
Yes. Our experienced
staff of relationship
therapists have been
practicing in South
Florida for many years.
The diversity of our
culture has afforded us
experience with a wide
range of people and
cultures including the
gay community. |
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