Honesty in Marriage

Posted on May 6, 2012 by knasseri

One of the most important foundations of a healthy marriage is honesty. By providing sincerity in the relationship, a partner affirms his or her level of commitment and dedication to the other. Honesty proves that the partner is dedicated, and allows building of trust.

Trust is of course paramount in any marriage. When trust is lacking, the partner always wonders about the other, and sometimes such wondering leads to imagining the worst. When that happens, the desire to remain attached and committed is diminished, and the marriage gets into serious trouble.

One aim of a psychologist or therapist is to communicate such importance of honesty, and giude the couple back into a trusting relationship and ultimately a happy and long lasting marriage.

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Couples Therapy / Couples Counseling

Posted on September 18, 2011 by knasseri

Like family therapy, couples therapy and marriage theapy concentrates  on the communication framework occurring in a relationship.  A couple therapy approach may also be used when a person’s psychological problems are related to problems in that person’s parents’ relationship.

Although conflict exists in any long-term relationship or marriage, many couples in our society experience serious marital problems.  The couple divorce rate in the United States is more than 50% that of the marriage rate.  Couples that live together without marrying also have similar levels of difficulty.

Couple therapy, like family, follows the principles of any of the major therapy orientations. For example, behavioral couple therapy uses many techniques from the behavioral model.  Psychology Therapists help spouses identify and subsequently change problematic behaviors  by teaching specific problem-solving skills.

Couples treated by couple therapy seem to show a great improvement of relationships than couples with similar problems that do not receive treatment, but there is no particular couple therapy that is superior to others.  Although two-thirds of treated couples experience improved marital functioning by the end of therapy, fewer than half of those who are treated achieve relationships that were without any distress.  Furthermore, a third of successfully treated couples may relapse within a couple of years after therapy.

Although couples therapy is not always successful, it provides couples the psychological tools to overcome many obstacles in their relationship, usually allowing the salvage and improvement of a couple’s relationship and marriage.

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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Posted on July 15, 2011 by knasseri

In cognitive-behavioral therapy cognition refers to thinking.  Therefore, it’s not the action of having a thought, but the content of the thought itself.  Our behavior is determined by our thoughts and perceptions to a great extent, and by the way we view ourselves and the world around us.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy focuses on changing our behavior by altering the way we think, particularly correcting our errors in logic. It seeks to shine a flashlight on these erroneous thoughts in our mind and help us to remove them from our thinking.  We can then learn new ways to deal with situations we previously dreaded or found difficult.

Psychologists and other mental health professionals apply cognitive-behavioral therapy to alleviate symptoms of depression, anxiety, marital distress, and many others. Variations on cognitive-behavioral therapy include rational-emotive therapy, relaxation training, cognitive restructuring, as well as others.  Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most proven and effective technique in treating psychological disorders.

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Postpartum Depression in Women

Posted on May 22, 2011 by knasseri

Postpartum depression can begin during the first four weeks after the birth of a child and it is far more severe than just “baby blues.”

As new mothers try to cope with the wakeful nights, uneasy emotions, and other stresses that accompany the birth of a new baby, some may experience crying, fatigue, excessive anxiety, insomnia, and unbearable sadness. These symptoms may disappear within days or weeks.

However, depressive symptoms may continue and last up to a year in some women. The symptoms include extreme sadness, despair, tearfulness, insomnia, anxiety, intrusive thoughts, compulsions, panic attacks, feelings of inability to cope, and suicidal thoughts. In such cases, postpartum depression is diagnosed and ought to be treated.

Fortunately, treatment can be successful for most women with postpartum depression. Many respond well to the same approaches that are applied to other forms of depression – antidepressant medications, cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, or a combination of these approaches.

The important factor is recognizing postpartum depression by making women aware of its symptoms so that help can be sought by a professional psychiatrist or psychologist. Whether by psychological therapy or by medication use or by a combination, treatment offers a much needed help for women that suffer from postpartum depression.

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Depression in Women

Posted on March 12, 2011 by knasseri

Psychologists tells us something important: women place a lot of importance on their closest relationships. Parents, relatives, spouses, children, and friends are key to women’s lives. Women value their relationships with these people and feel good about themselves when they are able to create relationships with them that are intimate and caring. The need to do so is healthy and fulfilling. When our most intimate relationships are good, they are protective  against depression. However, when they are riddled with conflict and emotional insecurity, they actually increase the possibility for depression.

The relationship a women creates with her significant other or spouse is a key factor of how good she feels about herself and her emotional well being. A woman who feels supported and cared for by her partner may face difficult times, but she is generally able to overcome such obstacles. Depression occurs when a woman is alone and isolated or when she is involved in a relationship that leaves her feeling uncared for and inadequate.

One goal of a family therapist / psychologist is to help a woman with depression see the hidden relationship patterns that may be causing her depression. In such a manner of identification, depression can be overcome.

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Intimacy Level in Marriage

Posted on February 11, 2011 by knasseri

Men and women have struggled with different intimacy urges for centuries. A healthy and  intimate life is one of the most significant components of a fulfilling relationship. In fact, low drive for intimacy is probably the single most deleterious symptom married women face and the one problem most likely to damage their relationships permanently. A fulfilling intimacy level in marriage is vital because it proves the willingness of each person to be vulnerable to the other.

A partner having a low intimacy in the marriage has a more profound and potentially more damaging long-term effect on the relationship than any other problem. Even more compelling is that the damage to the relationship can occur quickly and with overwhelming results. Having low intimacy is a very common reason why women and men seek either individual therapy, marriage therapy, or couples therapy.

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Marriage and couples therapy

Posted on February 5, 2011 by knasseri

Marriage therapist and couples counseling for relationships.

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Depression in a Child

Posted on February 3, 2011 by knasseri

Often depression in children is a manifestation of a dysfunctional family dynamic. The resulting stress is expressed in a child via aggressive behavior, depression, or anxiety. Often a good way to expose an underlying issue is to involve the entire family in a therapy session to view and discuss the existing relationship between different family members.

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Welcome to Newport Psychotherapy

Posted on February 3, 2011 by knasseri

Welcome to Newport Psychotherapy, a resource for psychology and therapy. I am a counselor / therapist in practice in Newport Beach, Orange County.

This marks the opening of my blog on topics relating to psychology and therapy. I hope you will find this resource useful.

Kaynaz Nasseri, LCSW

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