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Collaborative Counseling in Southlake, Texas

The Well House Group is a boutique counseling practice located in Southlake, Texas. We are conveniently located near the Dragon Stadium and Highway 114. Our counselors serve all people, from infants to adults. We offer a collaborative model of counseling that takes a holistic view of healing. With collaborative counseling, we take into account all members of a family system in order to encourage healing for all. We have a diverse group of counselors whose specialties, experiences, and personalities have been strategically brought together to treat a wide variety of needs. With the collaborative model, individual therapy and family therapy can happen in the same practice, and possibly, at the same time. No need to travel around town to find all your specialists. At The Well House Group, we have them all under one roof.

What is collaborative counseling?

Collaborative counseling provides a holistic view of counseling. Often, people seek counseling because they are feeling anxious or depressed. Traditional counseling treats the individual and may occasionally make a referral to a different practice for family or couples therapy.

Collaborative counseling takes the guesswork out of healing. With collaborative counseling, you will see your individual counselor as well as other counselors based on your needs (family therapy, parent coaching, or couples counseling are a few popular ones). With a collaborative approach, a team of specialists will work together to help you reach your mental health goals. Your specialists are experts at collaboration and communication and will skillfully help you reach your goals.

From the moment you reach out to our intake specialist, great care is taken to make sure you are appropriately placed with the right counselor and the right team. We take an extensive history and will often refer couples or families to work with other Well House Counseling Specialists. We find that the collaborative model treats the entire family system unit and is the best and quickest way to bring about positive, meaningful change.

How does it work?

When working with your counselor, they may notice themes or pain points in your other relationships or families. Your counselor will discuss these observations with you and will make a recommendation for additional collaborative sessions. The recommendation is often for parent coaching, family therapy, or couples counseling. Your counselor will identify goals and will schedule you with the collaborating counselor. The collaboration doesn’t stop there. The Well House team meets weekly to discuss treatment plans for all collaboration clients. When collaboration is done this way, we can tailor treatment goals to meet the needs of the individuals and the collective in order to bring about lasting change.

What issues can it help?

Collaborative counseling can be helpful for a wide variety of concerns. Since the collaborative model takes the entire system into consideration, it is a flexible treatment modality that can be tailored for just about any need. We commonly help individuals and families with the following concerns:

Marital dissatisfaction
Infidelity
Parenting concerns
Counseling for Teens
Self-harm
Anxiety
Depression
Family dynamics
Post-Partum Depression and Anxiety
Communication struggles in relationships
Trauma and PTSD
Play Therapy

How do I know if Collaborative counseling is right for me?

If you have ever thought that your family dynamic was affecting your stressed teen. Or maybe your teen’s behavior is affecting your family dynamic. Collaborative counseling can help. We do not exist in a vacuum. In fact, when one member of the family is struggling, all members are effected. The same thing applies to healing. When one member of the family begins to heal, all members are effected. It is much easier to achieve mental health when everyone in your family unit is getting help. Even if all family members are not interested in mental health healing, there are ways that a holistic view can support a healing journey. To bring it back to the original examples, Individual counseling for your teen or child can help your child grow and develop their mental health skills. Meanwhile, Family counseling and/or parent coaching can help the family deal with the challenges that arise from the interactions with their teen.

If you struggle with depression and your marriage feels hard, then collaborative counseling can help you tend to the depression while also addressing the needs of your relationship.

You can work through your own thoughts and goals with your individual therapist. Meanwhile, your couples therapist will help you achieve a more fulfilling and harmonious relationship; and both therapists will regularly consult to make sure they are all working towards the same goals.

If you have made a big, life decision that feel great but your family isn’t quite on board, collaborative counseling can help. You can work with your individual counselor to process all the changes. Meanwhile, a family therapist can work with you and your family together to navigate the tough conversations. This approach supports both you and your family. Collaborative counseling can help everyone through the changes.

How does Collaborative Counseling differ from Traditional counseling?

On the surface, collaborative counseling looks a lot like traditional counseling. You will form a close, trusting relationship with your counselor and you will rely on their expertise to hold space for you and to help you navigate towards your mental health goals.

With traditional counseling, if you need additional support (parent coaching, couples counseling, or family therapy), your counselor may provide these services themself or they may refer you to another therapist in a different practice. If your counselor chooses to provide these additional services themselves, it can make it difficult to keep their roles separate. If you are referred to an outside therapist, it can be hard for the two counselors to communicate which will make it hard for all counselors to work towards a unified goal.

With The Well House’s collaborative method, you can see different specialists who are all under the same roof. Each counselor has a different specialty and perspective which makes it easy for us to treat a wide variety of needs. From the first intake call, you will receive a high level of care tailored to your unique needs. We are particular about how we pair counselors and clients, and we are particular with how we continue to provide individualized care. To that end, Well House counselors meet regularly to consult and to create tailored treatment plans. You can rest easy knowing that you have an entire mental health team working towards you goals.

Frequently Asked Questions About Collaborative Counseling:

What results can I expect from a collaborative approach?

Since collaborative counseling streamlines the wellness process, you can expect seamless communication and streamlined goals. Results can manifest quickly when all members of a family unit are getting help.

What if I don’t want a collaborative approach?

That is okay! You are always in charge of your healing process. If you are not ready to involve other members in your healing or you are not interested in other services, that’s just fine by us. We have many clients who just come for individual sessions and we would never pressure anyone to receive services that they are not ready for.

Do I have to request a collaborative session?

Not necessarily, but you can if you want. In general, when your counselor thinks that collaboration will be helpful, she will recommend and help you get your collaborative session scheduled.

How can I get started?

If you are interested in starting counseling, call or email us today. Our intake specialist will take the time to learn about your needs and preferences and will schedule you with the counselor or team who best meets your needs.

Communicating with Your Partner for Better Connection

Connection, we all crave it. Studies show that when we are connected with people we love, we live longer lives. We seek connection through family and friends. It is our intimate relationships that provide the greatest forms of connection. Communicating with your partner in a healthy way promotes connection and intimacy. When communication struggles emerge we often find ourselves feeling isolated and misunderstood. These negative emotions lead to arguments – or worse, we stop communicating altogether.

If you find yourself struggling to connect and communicate with your partner, there are things you can do to help. Communication skills can be learned at any age and stage of the relationship.

Two types of communication

Communication is essential to a happy, healthy partnership. There are two parts to healthy communication: speaking and listening. When we think of communicating our needs, we usually focus on the words we speak. And when speaking, it’s helpful to remember that communication goes beyond the words we speak. There are two types of communication that come together to create the message we speak:

Verbal: Verbal communication is the most obvious form of communication. These are the words we speak. While it is crucial that we are aware of the content of our words, they only play a part in the message that is received by our partner. Non-verbal cues provide a great deal of context to our words and can greatly affect how our message is received.

Non-verbal: Non-verbal communication encompasses our tone (sarcasm, sympathy, frustration…), body language (engaged, aloof, connected…), and even our presentation (composed, erratic, disorganized…). Studies have shown that non-verbal communication is equally (if not more) important to verbal communication when discussing difficult topics.

As mentioned earlier, speaking is only one part of communication. It is important that we speak clearly and that our verbal and non-verbal communications match our intentions. In a relationship, it is also critical that we are good listeners. To improve communication in a relationship, we must discover how to listen, not how to talk.

“The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to reply.”

Stephen R. Covey

Signs you may struggle to communicate with your partner

When we have poor communication we often feel unheard or misunderstood. Here are some indicators that your communication isn’t working:

Feeling misunderstood
Feeling unheard
Frequent fights and arguments
Emotionally distant
Increased resentment
Cyclical arguments that are never resolved
Passive Aggression
Getting defensive
Criticizing or belittling
Lack of emotional intimacy
Stubbornness and the need to “win”

Tips for communicating with your partner

The biggest misconception about how to communicate in a relationship is that communication is the same as talking or making conversation. Communication in partnerships, at its core, is about connecting with your spouse to offer support and to understand their point of view. Below are some helpful tips for communicating with your partner.

Stay focused on the current topic

It may be tempting to bring up past events, but doing so will often lead to unproductive arguments. This often clouds the issue and makes finding mutual understanding and a solution to the current issue less likely. Try not to bring up past hurts or other topics. Stay focused on the present, your feelings, understanding one another, and finding a solution.

If there is a long history of similar conflicts, then it may be helpful to sort through these past events with a counselor. The counselor will help you understand the commonalities among all the past events and will help you discuss and resolve the issues with clarity and focus.

Listen Carefully

People often think they are listening, but really they are thinking of what they want to say next. Remember, healthy communication includes listening to understand. When your partner is speaking, don’t interrupt and don’t get defensive. When they are done speaking, first try to repeat back to them what you think you heard. This will let them know you are hearing them and will also give them an opportunity to clear up any misconceptions.

Respond to criticism with empathy

It can be tough to hear criticism and not become defensive. It is helpful to remember that your partner is trying to communicate how your behavior is making them feel. Even if your partner isn’t using those words, try and pull out how they are feeling. When you can connect and talk about their experience, it will be easier to connect and find a mutual solution.

Own what is yours

Personal responsibility is a strength, not a weakness. Healthy communication involves admitting when you’re wrong. Even if you didn’t mean to hurt or offend your partner, it is healthy and productive to admit when you have caused your partner pain.

Use “I” statements for communicating with your partner

Instead of saying things like “You hurt me” or “You really messed up here”, begin statements with “I” and make them about yourself and your feelings, like, “I feel hurt and unimportant when this happens…”. “I” statements are less accusatory, less likely to spark defensiveness, and help the other person understand your point of view. I statements help you communicate clearly with your partner.

Take a time out when communicating with your partner

Sometimes tempers get heated and it’s just too difficult to continue a discussion without it becoming an argument or a fight. If you feel yourself or your partner starting to get too angry to be constructive, it’s okay to take a break from the conversation until you have had some time to cool off. It is important that you intentionally seek out activities to cool off and return to the conversation.

Sometimes communicating with your partner well means knowing when to take a break.

Remember that the goal of effective communication skills should be mutual understanding and finding a solution that pleases both parties, not “winning” the argument or “being right.” This doesn’t work in every situation, but sometimes (if you’re having a conflict in a romantic relationship) it helps to hold hands or stay physically connected as you talk. This can remind you that you still care about each other and generally support one another.
Keep in mind that it’s important to remain respectful of the other person, even if you don’t like their actions.

When your partner isn’t on board

If your partner is not interested in learning how to improve their communication skills, that is okay. It does not mean that your relationship is doomed. Rather, you are just the first person to make the decision to improve aspects of the relationship. Since the goal of effective communication is mutual understanding, you can help make communication feel easier by practicing clear verbal and non-verbal skills and demonstrating good listening skills. By doing this, you will diffuse the situation and create a more harmonious atmosphere for communication to occur. Of course, boundaries and reciprocal attention are important in a partnership. It may be helpful to enlist the help of a counselor to ensure that you are not creating or maintaining unhealthy relationship patterns.

Texas-based Couples Counseling may help you with communicating with your partner

If one or both of you has trouble staying respectful during the conflict, or if you’ve tried to resolve conflict with your partner on your own and the situation isn’t improving, you might benefit from a few sessions with a couples therapist. Couples counseling or family therapy can provide help with contentious arguments and can teach skills to resolve future conflicts. If your partner is not interested in going to counseling, you can still benefit from going alone.

The Well House Group has counselors who specialize in couples counseling in Southlake, Texas. If you are curious about other resources or are interested in learning how to communicate with your partner, contact us. We work with couples all over the Dallas-Fort Worth area. For those located outside of the DFW metroplex, we offer secure Telehealth counseling through our HIPAA compliant servers. We look forward to helping you improve your relationships with your loved ones.

Why Couples Counseling Is for Everyone

Marriage counseling and couples therapy sometimes come with a reputation. It’s the last step for a lot of people on the road to divorce as well as something to avoid at all costs. But that is totally wrong. The news is actually really great! Relationship success rates are up to 98% according to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. Counseling is for everyone for every reason not just the worst parts of life. Yes, it can be a place to pick up the pieces. And, yes, it can be a place for couples in a great place to grow together deeper into their love for one another. Plus it’s a great place to develop as individuals. Also, you don’t have to be married or even dating for a decade to go. Building a healthy relationship doesn’t have to wait at all just to match up with stereotypes.

Maybe you and your spouse are in that middle ground. The ‘honeymoon phase is over, real life is monotonous, but you still care deeply for your spouse and family. Couples counseling seems like more of a hassle than anything else. Look at it this way, is it easier to patch up a sinking ship when it’s a few small leaks than the size of a finger. Or, when the only option is to scoop buckets out after the leak is too big to easily plug? Of course, it’s easier to do it early! Let’s talk a bit about the amazing benefits of marriage counseling and couples therapy in Southlake, TX.

Benefits of Marriage Counseling and Couples Therapy for Those Not Yet Married

Increasing intimacy or develop more/better romance between them and their partner

Every person comes with their own baggage into new relationships. Those of us who think we are doing a good job, may not be able to drop some of those walls to our new partners. You may think that we are being vulnerable when we really are not. Opening up with an objective third party can help you to grow as an individual. Additionally, you can learn to open up with your partner in a way that deepens the intimacy that you are beginning to develop.

What is intimacy, though, and what makes it successful? This can look different for some people. In general, it involves feelings of emotional closeness and connectedness with another person. These are often displayed through feelings of mutual trust, acceptance, and caring. This comes extremely easy for some and harder for others. The environment you grow up in has a great deal to do with how we display this for our partners and future families. Intimacy issues are worked through via a few avenues. This includes knowing and liking yourself, trust, honesty, and developing communication skills.

Working with a counselor can help!

Working with a counselor in Southlake and your partner can help to unlock your own feelings about intimacy. This will help you to best show and receive these acts of caring. This is where the romance comes to fruition, but the five love languages can leave people out. Getting to know yourself as you and not a mold to fit into can lead to a more fulfilling and romantic relationship with your partner.

Learning how to better support day-to-day stressors

Life is full of stressors, but what can be complicated is adding another person’s stressors into the mix. Often they aren’t even the same things as one another. That dish in the sink driving you absolutely crazy may be absolutely invisible in the eye of your partner. Couple that with the stress of work, family, and friends. It’s really no surprise that people have emotional explosions with all of that going on. Not only that but how we relieve that stress is completely different for each person. For some, that means meditation and quiet times while for others it means socializing with friends and getting a little rowdy. Each has its time and place and is valid to each individual.

Couples therapy near Southlake, or via online therapy is a place for each partner to discover what they can do to support your stressors and allow the time for each of you to blow off steam. Not only that but working with a counselor can help you to come up with healthy ways to decrease the anxiety of everyday life. If you have never worked with a professional to learn these, this can be a great resource! Learning new coping strategies for life is always beneficial.

They want to improve and learn better communication skills

Communication is the lifeblood of any relationship, romantic or not. If you cannot communicate properly and effectively with your spouse, you will be having two different conversations. Thus not building a good base for your future. This could mean communicating needs to your partner, setting boundaries, or learning how to disagree in a way that will not hurt your partner.

Disagreements are inevitable, but we’ve all had productive arguments that feel different from ones that leave the issue unresolved and feelings wounded. It can make all the difference to bring some coaching to those situations. What’s odd is that people wait until years after having many arguments to seek out help. Please, do not be ashamed to come in early as a preventative! Marriage counseling and couples therapy can help to save your relationship. Especially, before it’s in trouble and allow room for an amazing and fruitful time together.

Marriage counseling and couples therapy can help you heal and understand past trauma

We would all like to come into each new relationship with fresh eyes to see our partners for who they really are. Unfortunately, most of us don’t have the luxury of marrying our first partner. Not only that, the trauma from our families can have a deep impact on how we interact with and see our partners. For some, this trauma is far more severe than others. Sexual assault and abuse are traumas that can have a severe impact on our future relationships. Having a safe place to bring this up and work through it with your partner is so important.

Counselors in Southlake can help you and your partner to work through the worst of it and find out ways to heal. Not everyone will want to go through this process with their partner first. Sometimes it is good to get an understanding of where you are with some individual counseling before shifting gears to the work done inside of couples therapy in Southlake, TX. Wherever you are in your journey with past trauma, our counselors here in Southlake empathize with you to create a safe place to move past it all.

What are some other factors that can be specific to married and long-term couples?

As a couple’s lives begin to intermingle, issues can arise that are not part of newer relationships. There are issues of money, in-laws, and so many others. Hopefully, you are blessed with lovely in-laws that you adore, but if you aren’t this is a tough one for many couples to tackle. There are a few relationships involved at that point, so seeking out help from someone qualified can be extraordinarily helpful.

Money can be a complicated topic for everyone. Budgeting is not the most fun activity in the world by far. It can lead to irritability and frustration on a good day. Let alone if you are struggling with your partner financially. Working with a counselor to better communicate. And you can learn how to talk about money. This may not entirely eliminate those hardships, but at least your partnership is attacking the problem together.

Life Changes

Changing situations hit relationships all the time. Newly married, the addition of children, career changes are just a few of the many sudden changes that affect a couple’s relationship with one another. Reacting to these situations can be unpredictable. A counselor can help to guide you through your own emotions as well as your partners. This can allow you to grow together through those changes rather than apart.

Sudden changes can trigger things like excitement. However, these can often turn into depression, anxiety, fear, and tension. These are emotions that your partner can be there for you with, absolutely. They are going through their own wave of emotions as well. Couples therapy near Southlake, TX, can allow you to feel heard and supported through whatever life is throwing your way.

Adding children to the mix

Another huge part of a partnership is parenting. When children enter the picture, it is that much more important to keep your relationship strong and healthy. Younger or newer relationships may cover the fundamentals to ensure that you both agree on the principles of parenting. Of course, you read the books or did your research on the best ways to tackle the raising of children. The real-world application of those principles, however, gets a little bit messier. Children are tiring, immense sources of stress, and almost never come at us in the ways we have planned. Parent coaching and couples counseling are great ways to tackle tough problems as they come up in your family. If you are having problems with discipline, school, or behavior issues; this puts stress on your partnership. Our experienced counselors in Southlake are prepared to lead you through both short and long-term solutions to get your family in a happier and healthier situation.

Marriage has to bend and flex with each changing season, kids being a bit part of that. At the end of the day though, you still have to find ways to connect with your partner. This goes beyond the day-to-day banter over the lives of your children. What happens when your children move out? You find out that maybe the person you fell in love with is a stranger. Now more than ever. It is really important to establish healthy intimacy from the get-go. And, it is also really important to know how to maintain that intimacy throughout the life of your marriage.

So, is marriage counseling and couples therapy in Southlake, TX for you and your partner?

The short answer is, absolutely! Everyone can benefit from checking in on your relationship on a regular basis. If your relationship is struggling or if you feel like you have the room to grow as a couple, seek out a licensed professional to help you get there. Do not let the stigma of ‘going to counseling’ keep you and your partner from having the best possible relationship!

We are also here to provide that space for people to really feel heard after years of disfunction if that is the case as well. People that we love the most can also leave the deepest wounds. Counseling in Southlake, TX is a place for you to come with your partner if you’ve tried everything else. Let’s work together to get to the root of the issues you both are facing with a viable solution for everyone. Our counselors can act as a neutral intermediary to keep things calm and not deepen the hurt.

Ready to begin counseling in Southlake, TX?

At our in-person and online practice here in Southlake, TX, we offer marriage counseling and couples therapy! Let us be the place that you and your partner decide to grow together into a more fruitful partnership. Alongside our excellent couples counseling services, we also offer services that help you and your family. What are some great pairs to our couples counseling here in Southlake, TX? It may also be important to do some individual work to accompany the couple’s work that you do with your partner. Maybe you have some past trauma that you would benefit from working through or are going through some particularly hard changes in your work life.

Other Mental Health Services The Well House Offers

There are all kinds of therapy right here to help you make the most out of your life. Here at The Well House Group, we offer individual counseling, therapy for moms, and career coaching as just a few of the complementary kinds of counseling. Whether you are looking to repair the hurt or looking to dive a little bit deeper, our practice is here to help. Let’s work together to build you a better life! If you’re looking for another therapy service we also provide teen counseling, EMDR therapy for trauma, EMDR for peak performance, postpartum support, and academic coaching for kids. All of our services are offered in-person or via online counseling in Texas. We also offer supervision for LPC Interns and Associates looking to complete their licensure requirements with clinical supervision in Texas. Lastly, if you’re in Dallas, Justin, Argyle, Northlake, or anywhere in the state, we are ready to serve you. We look forward to working with you on your mental health journey! You can book your appointment today with us via text, phone, or email. Learn a little bit more about our counselors here on our about page.