Joseph Rowe MH17331

I have been working as a couples counselor for the past 5 years and have worked with couples on issues of infidelity, divorce, coparenting, communication, and intimacy concerns. My approach to working with couples is based on Emotionally-Focused Therapy while also using Gottman techniques to teach communication skills and break harmful patterns experienced within the relationship.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is something I use with almost every client. Identifying and discussing negative thoughts about oneself and discussing the harmful effects these have on self-esteem and self-image lead to the reframing and changing of these beliefs. A goal of mine in therapy is to teach clients about the interaction between their thoughts, behaviors, and feelings and being able to better manage the effect some of their negative effects might have.

Emotionally Focused Therapy is the modality I primarily use with couples. Its focus is on interactions between couples that repeat and specifically focuses on emotional drives behind behaviors in the relationship. EFT helps me work with couples in order to identify and change these harmful patterns by communicating through the emotion and understanding the interactions in relationships.

Attachment theory is important to me because it is a large part of how we form attachments, and ultimately relationships with others around us. I use this in practice by delving into a client’s personal history and discussing relationships with caregivers as well as past close relationships. This is used in therapy to look at similarities and patterns experienced in relationships throughout the years which can be evaluated and identified in order to change.

My way of working through anxiety is first providing clients with mindfulness techniques and tools to handle the immediate effects of anxiety. After forming a solid foundation of coping mechanisms, we then begin to look at the roots of the anxiety and the thoughts behind the anxious feelings. Then we can work on reframing and challenging these thoughts in order to form better responses to the anxiety and improving quality of life.

My way of working with anxiety is first providing clients with mindfulness techniques and tools to handle the immediate effects of anxiety. After forming a solid foundation of coping mechanisms, we then begin to look at the roots of the anxiety and the thoughts behind the anxious feelings. Then we can work on reframing and challenging these thoughts in order to form better responses to the anxiety and improving quality of life.

Similar to anxiety, working with depression begins with understanding and developing coping mechanisms to manage the effects of the daily experience of depression. Working towards an understanding of the thoughts behind the depressive feelings then transitions into working towards changing these thoughts and reframing one’s perspective in order to understand life from a different perspective.