Effective Approaches in Couples Therapy

The goal of couples counseling is to work towards obtaining a healthy and satisfying relationship. This is one of the most rewarding things we can do in our life. So, why is it so hard to have the relationship we want with the person we love? This can be manifested in fights, arguments, distance and feelings of disconnectedness from the one we love the most. The trouble is that we are not born knowing how to have a good enough relationship. Thus, the idea that good relationships are easy is a myth. Great relationships take work and that’s where couples therapy is beneficial.

My Approach

I received advanced training in couples counseling with techniques that teach you how to improve your relationship using techniques backed by research. I utilize psychodynamic therapy, cognitive, Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT), and other couples interventions to ensure the most effective treatment. My goal as a Couples Counselor is to support you and your partner to learn the tools that you need to have the kind of relationship you want. I help couples who are struggling with:

• Arguing
• Infertility concerns
• Adjustment to parenting
• Adoption
• Grief
• Lack of intimacy
• Difficulty communicating
• Financial concerns
• Getting out of a rut
• Mismatch in personalities

I utilize an integrative theoretical approach in working with couples. The cognitive, psychodynamic therapy of oppression and multiculturalism. Within the psychodynamic model, I help the couple increase their individual and collective self-awareness. Cognitive therapy techniques allow the couple to change the cognitive distortions that may cause much of the frictions, arguments and fights that the couple experience.

If abuse in any form is detected, the oppression model that utilizes discrediting the source of the oppressive thoughts is used to help the couple get through more difficult circumstances. Abuse can be physical, mental, emotional, psychological, sexual, and financial. Oftentimes, individuals use the word “manipulation” to describe the abuse they experience. Hadeel not only helps the partner who is experiencing the manipulation, but also the partner that is causing the shift in negative dynamics to understand the impacts they bring to the relationship. This helps the partner to correct their behavior by increasing empathy.

For the multicultural excerpt, I am mindful of different cultural backgrounds. I use techniques such as the communication technique and the values technique. These techniques are helpful for both the couple and the psychotherapist in the therapeutic relationship.

Lastly, I follow a holistic approach that connects the mind, body, and spirit. I gauge the importance of all three aspects to the couple in order to connect the pyramid of the entity that is the relationship. When one aspect of the mind, body, and spirit is negatively affected, the other two often follow. An element of positivity within the integrative approach is used to motivate the couple within the therapeutic journey!

Hadeel is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with experience working with children, adolescents and adults. She has worked with individuals of various backgrounds in both the Detroit and Chicago area, utilizing multicultural counseling approaches with women of various cultural backgrounds.

She completed a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Adler

University in Chicago and is currently in her last year of studying a Ph.D. in Counseling Education and Supervision. As a researcher, she studies counseling in women of collectivist cultures, specifically Middle Eastern women. Her research explores mental health concerns related to women in general as well as societal concerns, such as acculturation.

Hadeel provides individual, couples, family and group therapy across the lifespan, specializing in the following areas: women’s issues, depression, anxiety, couple’s conflict, grief and loss, mood disorders, emotional abuse, self-esteem/self-image, relationship issues, workplace stress, life management and anger.