Our Lake Mary marriage counselors and relationship counselors are very experienced, offering creative and focused marriage counseling services.  If you are seeking a qualified marriage therapist, look no further.  Our professional team assists couples who are dealing with challenges in their relationships and will provide a source of mending and resolution. We are passionate about the relationship counseling services we provide and are committed to serving the Lake Mary area. Our offices are conveniently located in Lake Mary, Southwest Orlando, East Orlando, Winter Park & Clermont, Florida.

Our Marriage Therapists are available at Total Life Counseling in Orlando, Winter Park, East Orlando, Lake Mary and Clermont, Florida offering Marriage Counseling and Pre-Marital Counseling. Our Clermont, Lake Mary Winter Park marriage counselors and therapists are committed to helping you.

Marriage Intensives are also available for couples that need more time condensed into 3-5 longer sessions to help get to the root of the problem, improve communication and listening skills, or to heal from an affair!  Call us for more information!

Do you want to know how you can rekindle the romance and bring that spark back into your marriage? Below are five proactive ways to stay married:

Reclaim your date night.

Remember staying up all night talking on the phone, or sitting outside in your spouse’s car – just to hear his/her voice a little longer? Did you used to play cards or take the Jet Ski’s out on Saturdays? Don’t give up your date night, just because you have children or because all the bills are due. It is a NECESSITY to learn to play together again. At least once a month, set an appointment to have a date together. Do something you enjoyed before getting married, try something new, and go out to dinner without the kids. And call it a date. Get dressed up or dressed down, whatever fits your personality. The good thing about dates: they don’t have to be costly. Just something fun, something energetic, just the two of you.

Boundaries with the Children and Careers.

Though the economy is not looking great, don’t go into panic mode chasing the almighty dollar. Your spouse needs your time and attention. Though the children need enriching activities and have important sporting events, they need to see their parents love each other more. Set a limit on how many hours you will work this week. Put the children to bed at an earlier time or enforce quiet time in their rooms after a specific hour. Make sure you have at least 30 minutes of quality time together so you can listen and empathize with your marriage partner’s day. Also, share things with your husband because, he is not a mind reader like the romance novels would lead you to believe. There is a reason why they call those books “Fiction.” Getting to know each other doesn’t stop at “I do”.

Allow Each Other To Have Some Space.

It isn’t a bad thing to have individual interests. If he wants to play golf, she can spend the time catching up on some shopping with the girls. Make sure to practice appropriate boundaries by sharing your individual interests with the same sex (men go out with male friends; women go out with female friends). Don’t be surprised if you both start to appreciate having new things to share with each other. The old cliché “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” may ring true after you have shared a day apart from one another.

Spice Up the Intimate Moments.

Have fun giving each other kisses or long embraces, and listen to your kids say, “Ewww, gross!” Send the children to grandma’s or allow them to spend the night with a trusted friend, so you can rekindle the romance in your home. Try new positions, take a bath together, get out the soft music and scented candles. Men, if you prepare your wives, I can almost guarantee she’ll return the favor before the night is over.

Fight fair.

This can be much more difficult than it sounds. Expect to have disagreements or to get angry at each other when things do not go as planned. But do NOT call each other hurtful names, do NOT say “I don’t love you or I’m going to leave”, and do NOT fight in front of the children if possible. Before you embrace an argument, think about whether or not it is worth the energy. Does it really matter if it was you or him that forgot to turn out the lights or should you save your energy for discussing something that is important like not forgetting to pick up Jane from school again? Remember to pick your battles. Life will go on if the electric bill goes up a few dollars, but will be detrimental if you neglect your parental responsibilities.

Take steps today to improve the state of your marriage. If you want to be proactive and have a marital tune up or if you are struggling in your marriage give us a call at Total Life Counseling. It would be our pleasure to come along side you to improve your marriage!!

Call us at 407-248-0030

What is PREPARE/ENRICH?

PREPARE/ENRICH is a customized couple assessment completed online that identifies a couple’s strength and growth areas. Based on a couple’s assessment results, a trained TLC facilitator provides 4-8 feedback sessions in which the facilitator helps the couple discuss and understand their results as they are taught proven relationship skills.

What are the major goals of the PREPARE/ENRICH Program?

There are several goals of the PREPARE/ENRICH Program. In order to achieve these goals there are exercises designed to help couples improve their relationship skills. The program helps couples:

1. Explore strength and growth areas
2. Strengthen communication skills
3. Identify and manage major stressors
4. Resolve conflict using the Ten Step Model
5. Develop a more balanced relationship
6. Explore family of origin issues
7. Discuss financial planning and budgeting
8. Establish personal, couple and family goals
9. Understand and appreciate personality differences

What relationship areas are assessed by the Inventories?

1. 12 Relationship Scales — communication, conflict resolution, roles, sexuality, finances, spiritual beliefs and more
2. 5 SCOPE Personality Scales
3. 4 Couple and Family Scales — based on the circumplex model
4. 4 Relationship Dynamic Scales
5. 30 Customized Scales