Services are offered in the OFFICE and
via TELEHEALTH
Individual
Marriage & Parent Prep
Couples
Family
Consultation
Community Outreach
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In individual therapy, Eileen works with her clients to understand and prioritize problems and challenges, set realistic goals that the client identifies and develop steps to meet those goals. Therapy is not intended to last indefinitely; rather it is designed to identify the client's strengths and resources and teach clients how to recognize and use them to create a better situation for themselves. Individual therapy is collaborative, realistic, supportive and infused with the belief that there is always hope and a path forward. Sometimes we just need to find it together.
Eileen utilizes the FOCCUS Pre-Marriage Inventory to create a framework for teaching couples how to have intentional conversations that will lead to deeper understanding. The ability to turn toward each other to discuss sensitive issues that invariably arise in any long-term relationship is an essential skill, and marriage preparation is the perfect time to become proficient at it.
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Once the arrival of a baby is on the horizon, it is time to prepare not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Parenthood is a shock to the system, and couples are often ill-prepared to foresee and understand the mental and emotional weight it carries. After noticing that many of the couples coming in for marriage counseling had young children and described never "getting back on track" after they were born, Eileen dedicated herself to learning more about this under-treated area of counseling. In "Beyond the Bassinet" counseling, couples are taught about baby's emotional development, how s/he responds to parents in the early months, and what parents can expect and need for themselves and each other. This is a new program offered by CFH and one Eileen sees as essential for new parents, whether single or in a couple.
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Couples enter therapy together for one of three reasons: 1) Something is so wrong that I don't even know if I want to stay in this relationship 2) Something is wrong and we need help to save/improve our relationship or 3) This relationship cannot survive and I/we need help in finding the best way to end it. Couples counseling requires two people willing to participate. Eileen works hard to help both partners feel safe and heard in therapy. She does not take sides or give advice, but works to help clients create an environment where they can identify the roots of problems and learn new strategies to address them.
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Eileen employs Gottman Couple and Relationship Therapy, which is an evidence-based structured approach to helping couples better understand each other and what they need to develop together to build a long-lasting and satisfying relationship. This is a strengths-based approach and supported by 30 years of research on successful, long-term couple relationships. Eileen will describe how the process works during your initial phone call, and you can decide if it is an approach that might work for you.
Family Therapy is NOT about blaming any one person for family troubles. It IS about recognizing that the complex system of a family - how we talk with each other, how we spend time, how we behave, and how we think about ourselves within our family - is the key to healing and growing from family hurts. In family therapy, every member has a voice and a viewpoint, and all are respected. The goals in family therapy are to increase family understanding and craft a healthy path forward for all its members.
While counseling concentrates and treats the thought processes and motivations within individuals, consultation focuses instead on a specific problem, and how to manage and address it. The focus is collaborative, where Eileen and her client work together to deal with (often complex) situations and come up with a game plan to work through them.
Eileen has extensive experience talking to groups (yes, even on ZOOM!) and enjoys sharing information and reliable research and tools on a variety of mental health topics. She has developed workshops on resilience, care giving, aging and life transitions, children and family issues, cutting, suicide prevention, college adjustment, couples and parenting. If you are interested in consultation or presentations for your group or organization, feel free to give Eileen a call.