Marriage and Family Counseling New York Long Island Manhattan

Welcome to Relationship Solutions! I hope you had a memorable holiday. The weather was gorgeous and I could not have asked for a better weekend. Many of you may have spent your time cleaning out the garage or working to get the outside ready for summer. Maybe you just took the opportunity to relax or went on a planned trip somewhere. There are also many of you who went to services in memory of our fallen heroes. Whatever you did, I hope it was memorable.

Even though summer is approaching and I am looking forward to relaxing in the sun, I am also really excited to be creating with our therapists some new things that CCMFT will be offering both this summer and in the fall. We are planning some great new ways to make our services more accessible and affordable. Sound good? Stay tuned for updates as we continue to plan and create.

All this work however does not mean we will not play. All of us at CCMFT believe it is so important to make time for our family, friends and loved ones. Stop and smell the roses and have a little fun! This month’s e-newsletter edition is all about playtime. Yes, that is right we want you to play like children. We hope you find our suggestions useful and that we really get you thinking about how important play is to a relationship. Get creative and have fun doing it!

As humans, we are taught the importance of playtime at a young age. And for good reason. Among other motivations, there are ideas about how it contributes to development of imagination as well as social skills. Recently, I got thinking about this concept on an adult level and I thought, “Whatever happened to recess?”

Remember the school playground when you were a youngster? Perhaps you and your peers created stories about the monkeybars being a castle that needed to be defended or maybe you “dug a hole to China” in the sandbox. Unfortunately nowadays we see less and less of recess due to budget cuts in our schools. However, smart parents (like yourself, perhaps?) are making up for that in the form of playdates with school chums or neighborhood children. And you are wise to do it for the above reasons and more—including the opportunity to have some adult talk with other parents. But I digress.

We spend so much time working at our jobs and caring for our families that often times we neglect to care for ourselves and our couplehood. It makes sense—especially in this economy—that the focus would be on bringing home the bacon to pay for the house, groceries and other essentials. But where has our playtime gone?

Relaxing and kicking back with our mates can be an effective way of reducing stress in a partnership and further investing in your social and recreational intimacy level. I ask you to think about this for a moment. When was the last time you and your loved one went out and played? If you are an extreme sports couple, then obviously this doesn’t apply. But chances are those folks are probably out hang gliding anyway and not reading this article. So for the rest of us who are not out “aiming high,” I ask you again: When was the last time you had some fun together?

If the answer is that it has “been awhile,” then I encourage you to make a date with your partner and “get in touch with your inner child.” Take a trip to the beach and build a sandcastle. Go to a park and take a ride on the swingset. Go fly a kite. (Which reminds me of an older gentleman I saw at the beach one day who was doing so with the rope attached to a fishing reel—genius! Proof positive to me that age doesn’t have to interfere with fun!)

Hopefully the upcoming seasons will offer you and your partner an opportunity to get outside and play. Best of luck to you as you de-stress and bring back some fun in to your relationship!

Some youth-inspired ideas for couple playtime
• Have a catch
• Play in the sand
• Take a hike
• Collect seashells
• Ride bikes
• Go skating
• Play in the pool
• Visit your town park
• Make s’mores in your backyard firepit
• Go fly a kite

Comments or questions? Email us at info@couplesandfamilies.com.

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Reserve your spot now for our two group programs!

Marriage Prep: A Toolbox for Today’s Couples

Our new premarital program is a culmination of years of experience in helping folks prepare for and maintain healthy marriages. This 10-session program gives you the beginner’s tools that most likely no one ever told you about—it is a toolbox of topics that newlyweds commonly present in couples treatment.

Here is your chance to get a head start and likely avoid or greatly reduce many newlywed arguments! With our program, you and your partner can get off to a terrific start—and the honeymoon may not ever end!

• Identify family of origin issues that impact your relationship

• Assess your couple traits and how these may affect your marriage

• Learn healthy ways to build relationships with in-laws

• Gain tools to effectively deal with popular topics in new marriages including communication, sex and money

• Learn how to establish healthy boundaries in your marriage

*It is important to note that while we do not have a religious piece to the program, the topic is one that can be included if the client desires.

Let us help you and your partner begin your journey of commitment on a healthy track.

Contact us today for information about fees and meeting locations. If you are unable to attend group sessions, or desire a more personalized format, we can customize the program to weekly sessions for you and your partner.

$600 10 week program

*Payment plans available.

$125 initial intake session (each couple is required to meet with the group facilitator prior to starting the group for 45 minutes)

**Credit Card, Cash, and Check accepted at this time.

$125-$135 for individual (one-on-one) sessions (45-minute sessions). Payment collected at each individual session.

Contact us today! (212) 537-9313 or (516) 665-7889 ext. 1
Reserve your spot today or to talk with a therapist regarding our other services.
email: info@couplesandfamilies.com

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Learn effective tools for dealing with anger in your relationships. Anger is an emotion that we all experience when we feel vulnerable or attacked. The group will teach you effective ways for managing and expressing anger. Anger is explored in the context of relationships and tools for improving relationships will be provided. The goals of the 10-week program are:

• To increase awareness of anger expression patterns
• To learn how our anger experience is shaped by our development and what we can learn from our family and environment
• To identify current and past situations that fuel anger
• To identify responsibilities in the current anger situation that resulted in either a self or outside referral
• To develop specific ways to de-escalate potentially violent situations
• To decrease verbal and physical manifestations of anger, aggression, or violence while increasing awareness and acceptance of emotions

*Participants will receive a certificate of completion.

Saturdays~ Manhattan Office

(Individual sessions available on Mondays-Saturdays Manhattan and Rockville Centre Offices)

Contact us to register and reserve your spot!

$600 10 week program

*Payment plans available.

$80 initial intake session for group only (each participant is required to meet with the group facilitator prior to starting the group for 45 minutes)

**Credit Card, Cash, and Check accepted at this time.

$125-$135 for individual (one-on-one) sessions (45-minute sessions). Payment collected at each individual session.

Contact us today! (212) 537-9313 or (516) 665-7889 ext. 1
Reserve your spot today or to talk with a therapist regarding our other services.
email: info@couplesandfamilies.com