A post by Dr. Jeff Cline, Clinical Director at Better Life Counseling Center. It’s hard to believe, but I’ve now been part of the staff at Better Life Counseling Center (BLCC) for the past 15 years. One of the things that I have appreciated most about my years of service, is our commitment to identifying community needs and providing resources and services to support the health and wellness of individuals, couples, and families in northeast Arkansas. Throughout our history, our staff and board have sought to develop partnerships with individuals, businesses, churches, and other non-profit organizations, who share our mission and vision for health and wellness, including healing and reconciliation for relationships that are damaged. We are excited to announce a new and unique service that will launch in the fall of 2021—marriage intensives.
Through the generous support of a long-term donor, BLCC has been provided with an endowment to begin a day-long marriage intensive program to help couples in need. Unlike traditional outpatient counseling, marriage intensives allow time to explore the history of a relationship and underlying causes that have contributed to conflict, hurt, and a lack of intimacy and connection. Our goal will be to help couples emerge with a better understanding of the patterns of behaviors that led to their distress, as well as, a map of how to move towards healing and growth.
We are still in the planning stages, so many of the details are yet to be worked out. We can share that our model will include a combination of psychoeducation, group processing with other couples in attendance, and individualized counseling with one of our licensed professionals. We believe that couples who participate in our day-long intensive will emerge with the knowledge, skills, and motivation, to help them have greater success as they continue to participate in our traditional counseling process.
Couple types who may benefit from our marriage intensive include:
- Repairing Broken Trust—for couples working through affairs or betrayals
- On the Brink—for couples on their last chance or deciding whether or not to stay together
- Disconnected or Devitalized—for couples needing to refocus and rebuild connection
- We’re Too Busy—for couples that want to maximize the impact of counseling
- We’ve Tried Counseling Before—for couples who have not had success with previous attempts at a traditional outpatient counseling
- Let’s Start Off Right—for motivated couples early in their relationship who want to know how to create a successful relationship from the beginning
Be on the lookout for more information in the months ahead! To learn more about BLCC staff and the counseling services we provide, please visit our website: www.betterlife.org or call 870-935-4673.