Relationship Coaching
Relationship Coaching provides you with the practical tools you need to improve your relationship (even if your relationship sometimes seems to be overwhelmed by conflict, resentment, disappointment, or anger).
It empowers you to set your own unique and clearly defined goals for achieving the relationship that you both want. It does this by helping you identify the strengths and positive elements of your relationship, and then to discover practical, workable solutions for eliminating those things that are standing in the way of your success.
Relationship Coaching creates clearly defined, structured, and disciplined methods for resolving the familiar conflicts you have had so many times—and can often resolve them permanently. Coaching enables you to turn conflicted issues into positive, solution oriented opportunities to achieve growth, empathy, understanding, and peace.
Coaching does not focus on each individual’s past, provide diagnosis of mental illness, or practice therapeutically advised interventions.
Most importantly, Relationship Coaching is intended to result in the creation of a new, stronger, and more satisfying relationship—one that you both agree is more passionate and secure than it has ever been before.
Marriage Therapy
Marriage Therapy with a trained and experienced marriage therapist is certainly recommended for those couples whose relationship appears unsustainable—particularly when there is domestic violence, threat of suicide, acute substance abuse, or an indication of untreated Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for either partner. When a partner has a history of chronic mental illness or has been diagnosed with a florid personality disorder, relationship coaching is never appropriate.
Treatment by a marriage therapist or other licensed professional counselor is also recommended for those couples in which one or both partners have made a final decision to terminate the relationship. Those couples are better served by a practitioner who can assist in helping them to end the relationship in as civil and peaceful a way as possible.
Couples who are looking for a professional to testify in divorce proceedings, or participate in mediation related to child custody should seek out a licensed professional therapist, mental health counselor, or psychologist who specializes in these kind of issues.
Marriage therapists typically diagnose individuals using the DSM-V manual of mental illness. They often are able to provide psycho-analytical insights into the past of each individual and apply those insights to individuals to explain their current behaviors. Couples where one or both individuals are being seen by a Licensed Therapist may also be seen by a Relationship Coach, but only as a couple and only for the purpose of improving their relationship through the acquisition of relationship skills.
SEX AND INTIMACY
Rarely is sexual intimacy the only issue in a relationship, but it is certainly a vital part of most relationships. While the focus in some cases may be on the sexual aspect of the relationship—every aspect of the relationship can benefit from new intimacy skills.
Dr. Bloodgood’s doctoral thesis was in the field of sex and intimacy enhancement through effective communication. He has helped couples improve sexual intimacy for more than 25 years.
Now, as a Relationship Coach, much of Dr. Bloodgood’s work centers around developing skills in all aspects of intimacy. These include:
Sexual Intimacy Emotional Intimacy Affectionate Intimacy Romantic Intimacy
The presence of Security, Affection, Romance, and Sexual Passion are vital to most intimate relationships. Without them, one or both individuals can fall prey to boredom, resentment, and feelings of rejection and emptiness. Relationship Coaching can rekindle the flame of intimacy, and restore the sense of connection, safety, excitement, and love that can sometimes be lost as a result of stress, family pressures, and the passage of time.
Many sexual intimacy problems (and nearly ALL other problems in every relationship) respond well to the introduction of these vital skills:
empathy, awareness, romantic attention patience understanding
Many sexual issues can be resolved through coaching. Some sexual issues absolutely require traditional sex therapy and/or medical intervention. For example, sexual trauma, anorgasmia, and certain types of erectile dysfunction are among some of the issues that warrant medical attention. Often, when treatment by a medical professional is provided, the prescribing doctor will recommend relationship coaching. This can assist you both in reestablishing a satisfying and fulfilling intimate sexual experience once medical treatment is completed.
Dr. Bloodgood can help you to decide the best way to approach achieving your goals related to sexual intimacy. You may decide to work completely on your own with a self-guided course like Pathways to Intimacy. You may choose to restore intimacy and passion working together in Relationship Coaching sessions. In some cases it may be best to make an appointment to visit a medical doctor or a psycho-therapist specializing in sexual dysfunctions.
Dr. Bloodgood will be happy to discuss all these options with you before you begin a coaching program.