253 . 651 . 3752
Helping people bring structure and calm to chaos
Deanne Carter, LMHC
253 . 651 . 3752
Helping people bring structure and calm to chaos
Deanne Carter, LMHC
253 . 651 . 3752
Helping people bring structure and calm to chaos
Deanne Carter, LMHC
Keeping Love Alive
Does your marriage suffer from a loss of those early sparks? Are you fighting, seething, or suffering in silence?
Your relationship can be saved. Start with these FREE practical pointers grounded in realistic research on forming and saving relationships from an experienced couples counselor. In just 22 pages you get 30 tips and tools for identifying true problem areas and working through the rough spots, plus 16 relationship repair ideas you can implement today. Use the request form to get this ebook now, delivered right to your email inbox.
By signing up for this free ebook, you will also receive 10 additional Rev Up to Revive Your Relationship Tips and a bi-weekly tip sheet for ongoing support.
Relationships are hard. Boundaries are often unclear. Communication is tricky, and knowing how to get needs met without being needy or aggressive is sometimes a mystery.
That's why I provide counseling for adults and teens, and coaching for parents and couples who are having struggles with feeling heard, appreciated, and respected in relationships.
Differences don’t have to mean difficulty.
I help couples stop fighting and start communicating.
If you are ready to clearly communicate and
connect with passion,
contact me to get started 253.651.3752
or email me.
Tired of Being Unappreciated?
©2010 Deanne Carter, LMHC, NCC
When you negotiate in your relationship, it is important to come from a place of joy and choice.
When you have the habit of acting from a place of sacrifice, there are often strings attached. I want to feel loved or appreciated, so I’ll do this so he/she will see how much I’m here.
Or, I’ll agree to this so then my partner will do something for me. Then, when your partner doesn’t read your mind and acknowledge your efforts in the way you were looking for, you get mad/resentful or sad and protect yourself with attack or withdrawal.
Over time, you may choose to do things either with anger or bullying behaviors, or on your own because you perceive that your partner is not willing to support you. This can all be quite subtle, but it wears away at the bond between you.
Worse, your partner may have no idea of what’s going on or how to support you, because this dialogue is inside of your mind. But I’ve talked til I’m blue in the face, you say.
More often I see that partners defend themselves or use lengthy explanations of what went wrong, but stay on the surface.
That sounds something like this: I arranged for the kids to be on overnights, cleaned the house, stocked up on groceries, paid the bills, cooked dinner, and you couldn’t even help me with dishes. So your partner is thinking you are upset about dishes not being done.
But from the other point of view, you were racing around taking care of things and he/she assumed that is what you wanted to do, so he/she hesitated to ask you to sit down and relax with him/her, even assuming you didn’t want to spend time with him/her. You assumed that his/her lack of invitation is something about him/her not appreciating you or not wanting to spend time connecting with you.
When your emotional needs are met proactively, it is much easier to negotiate and compromise from a place of joy. This eliminates defending, rationalizing, explaining, justifying, demands, and other gamey behaviors.
That would sound more like: I’m excited about this Friday when we get to have a date night. I’m concerned that you expect me to have the house cleaned, grocery shopping and cooking done before we get to have time together. I think if I do all that, I’ll miss out on the chance to spend time with you. I’ve missed snuggling and talking with you about what matters most to us. I crave time to talk about things other than our day to day chores. Would you be willing to help me grocery shop and pay bills early in the week so we can cook dinner together and eat by candlelight Friday?
So often we don’t ask because our assumptions are so locked in we think we don’t have any choices.
Really, these messages trick you to “protect” you from hearing no or feeling sad.
But when you put walls up, not only could they be unnecessary, but regardless, they get in the way of intimacy and bonding. If you feel sad and share that with your partner, you have the opportunity to fully communicate and be seen and understood by your partner.
If you only communicate the surface demands of wanting help accomplishing chores, without the heartfelt invitation to connect, you are less likely to get your emotional needs met. You need to build trust within yourself to handle uncomfortable emotions that may come up when you take risks.
I can help you learn how to address underlying needs and communicate more effectively help deepen your relationship with yourself and others.
More Articles for You
By understanding your own beliefs and actions that contribute to your fulfillment and/or dissatisfaction, you empower yourself to obtain the relationship you want.
My work with family reconciliation prepared me to help you shift chronic, long-term relationship problems in a short period of time. I am available to identify specific relationship-saving goals and objectives, strategies to move beyond ineffective and harmful ways of reacting to your partner, and strengthen your ability to be trustworthy, vulnerable, clear, assertive, and present.
People often come to relationship coaching with lots of fear and anger. It is difficult, at that time, to see how it can get better or what relationship patterns you are following. We will work step by step to improve communication, respect, and personal responsibility so you may experience a rewarding, close relationship. If a deeper level of work is needed, I will recommend counseling to address the underlying issues that are sabotaging your ability to make healthy changes.
Love can stir up old hurts that you didn’t even know were there. Old beliefs like "I'm not good enough" or "I'm not important" can get in the way of your happiness. Change happens when you update these negative beliefs. As your counselor, I can confront sabotaging behaviors and help you focus on solutions. Stop blaming, power tripping, and disrespecting yourself and your partner.
As your therapist, I cannot pressure your partner into participating. However, I can help by offering objective, direct, and respectful guidance for your relationship with strategies that have been proven to work.
Many people experience some level of anxiety or resistance prior to working with a therapist. I invite you to come for an initial assessment and trust yourself to know if this is the right place for you.
If you are ready to
clearly communicate and
connect with passion,
contact me to get started
253.651.3752
From this 33 page practical guide, spouses who suspect infidelity get 14 red flag signs a spouse is cheating and what first steps to take, unfaithful partners learn the 15 reasons to end an affair, and the couple is given 15 ways to rekindle trust and repair their wounds. Betrayals in Marriage: Extramarital Affairs and How To Stop Them from Ruining Your Relationship is written by Tacoma's expert couples counselor Deanne Carter, LMHC as a down to earth start designed to save your marriage before it’s too late.