In A
Relationship,
There's
Desperation And
Hope
Reporting Dr. Sean
Kenniff
PLANTATION
(CBS4) ―
It's not uncommon for
people to notice a few
wrinkles in a
relationship.
"If you're in
any relationship
for any length
of time, then
you are
eventually going
to get to that
point where you
need a tune-up,
so-to-speak,"
Melissa Bridges
told CBS4 Health
Reporter Dr.
Sean Kenniff.
Bridges's
practice can be
found at
couplesonthebrink.com;
she's a
relationship
therapist along
with Dr. Paul
Maione, both of
whom explain
that like
people's faces
and bodies,
relationships,
too, grow old.
"Let's face it,
most couples
walking around
could use a lift
in their
relationship,"
added Maione,
which is what
they offer in an
intensive
therapy best
described as a
'Love Lift'.
"What we do at 'Couples
on the Brink' is almost
a little more like
reconstructive surgery
than just cosmetic
surgery," Bridges
mentioned.
Like any operation, the
'Love Lift' starts with
anesthesia--providing a
pain-free environment to
discuss relationship
problems. Maione said,
"That is the anesthesia
that allows us to get
over those humps, those
hurdles that allow the
couple to make positive
changes" while Bridges
complemented the
discussion saying, "They
are so numb, they have
no life left in the
relationship."
In most case, a
relationship-saving
surgery can be
performed; with insight
and suggestions coming
not from one therapist,
but from several at
once.
"You have to have a team
of surgeons," explained
Bridges, "so our
perspective is a team
approach."
Sessions can be intense.
"Some couples require
major surgery. There are
layers, upon layers of
hostility and layers of
resentment," Maione
observed. Bridges added,
"We have them sit with
us for eight hours in a
day sometimes."
Maione and Bridges say
they work, offering hope
even for 'Couples on the
Brink', saying they try
to bring back people to
'a place' where they can
remember why they fell
in love.
Happy relationships are
healthy. Studies have
shown couples who
decided to stay
together, even through
difficult times, have
fewer regrets than those
who separated.
"Couples On The Brink"
have offices located at
8551 Sunrise Blvd. in
Plantation, phone number
(954) 660-7272.
