Susan Orenstein, Ph.D. is a licensed Counseling Psychologist in private practice in Cary, NC and Chapel Hill, NC. Susan has extensive experience with couples counseling; helping couples increase respect, affection, intimacy, and relationship satisfaction. 

Common Questions Facing Couples in Distress:

Is it too late?

Is it too early?  Do you offer pre-marital counseling?

How do we balance family and career?

Should I stay in an unsatisfying marriage for the sake of the children?

Can I regain those old feelings of love for my partner?

Can our marriage survive after an affair?

What do I need to know the second-time around?  How do we blend our families?

How can couples counseling help?

What to Expect:

Susan uses a solution-focused, active and engaging approach to help couples get unstuck. The process of couples counseling often begins with a meeting with both partners so they can share their perspective on the relationship difficulties and their goals for couples work.  Then, Susan meets with each partner separately to obtain family and relationship histories and to discuss additional individual concerns.  The therapy usually consists of two or three sessions of assessment and subsequent 50-minute treatment sessions, in her Cary, North Carolina office. The average couple attends 8-20 sessions throughout a period of six months to a year.  In couples therapy sessions, Susan will provide you with tools to identify things you can do immediately to feel more relaxed and connected in your relationship.

Susan helps couples understand the roles of each partner's individual background, personality, marital style and stage of life in their current concerns.  In addition, she often helps couples address their children's needs as they address their relationship issues.  She recognizes that couples experience relationships differently during various life stages and will help couples put their relationships into context.

My Approach to Couples Counseling:

Susan is guided by the Solution-Focused work of marital therapist, Michele Weiner-Davis and the clinical research of John Gottman, who has studied couples' relationships for the past 30 years with 3,000 couples.  Susan uses research-based exercises and interventions to help couples break through barriers and find new approaches of interacting in order to achieve greater understanding, connection, intimacy and pleasure in their relationships.

This therapy process is not mysterious. Along the way, couples become experts on their relationships and create their own "couples instruction manual," gaining an understanding of what works and doesn't work in their relationships.  Susan will debunk many common myths about romance, relationships, and gender differences, by sharing information from research and her own clinical practice on how to make your marriage thrive. 

Benefits of Couples Counseling:

Susan helps couples become more satisfied in their relationships by achieving the following results:

• Increased respect and appreciation
• Revitalized sexual desire and satisfaction
• Greater understanding and closeness 
• Create a process for healing and forgiveness after an affair
• Time together sharing interests and activities
• Increased ablity to resolve conflicts
• Ability to maintain improvements in your relationship

Last Updated Saturday, May 31 2008 @ 10:32 AM MDT; 8,322 Hits