Healing, Transformation, Change
Individual and Couple Therapy
EVERYONE HAS A STORY – MAKING THE CHANGES YOU HOPE FOR
The question is, do you know your own story? Have you ever been able to tell your story? Has anyone ever truly listened?
My approach to therapy is to listen to your story, to try to understand, put together the pieces that don’t seem to fit, and to help you make sense of your life. By understanding yourself, your past, and your patterns of relating, you come to appreciate where you are today and what may be getting in the way of making the changes you hope for.
WHOSE LIFE AM I LIVING?
For so many, the questions we come to ask are “Whose life am I living? Whose hopes and dreams am I fulfilling?”
We may feel we have to succeed in a way that others need us to succeed. We may look on Instagram and wonder why everyone else’s life is so great and ours is not. We may worry we’re not living up to our potential. Or we may feel “stuck” and wonder how we’ve ended up in a dead end, whether it’s a troubled relationship, an empty nest, or an unfulfilling job.
Others may just feel lost, and may say, “I don’t know what I think or what I want.” “I don’t know how to ask for what I need.” These questions can be answered individually or as a couple.
INDIVIDUAL AND COUPLE THERAPY
Some of us feel uncomfortable and conflicted in our relationship. We may feel lonely and disconnected or may not understand why we are always struggling with the ones we love. We may wish for more intimacy and a relationship we can really trust and rely on.
There are many ways to learn about ourselves, our authentic feelings and desires, and to construct a narrative of our lives that opens up a future with the possibility for a meaningful work-life, creative expression, loving relationships, and a satisfying sense of self.
My way of helping you to move along this path is through Coherent Narrative Therapy™, created by Gail Noppe-Brandon, LCSW, enabling you to get to know your own life story and to gain the power to rewrite your narrative.
In the process, you may discover how your past plays out in the present. You may be able to remember past events that can help you fill in the pieces that are missing. You may gain insight into the importance of things in your past that you thought were unimportant. You may realize that the story you have been telling yourself contains distortions that are preventing you from seeing solutions.
Together, we will discover the ‘coherence’ of your stuckness – the how and why you have become stuck – and what will make it safe to change. Then you can begin re-framing your personal story, and create a new narrative where you become the author of your future.
Because we are wired for love and connection, we look for ways to expand and deepen the relationships that are most important to us. Feelings of disconnection can cause significant distress and interfere with feeling close, safe and bonded with the persons we love.
When hurts and problems have not been identified and overcome, our interactions can become interpersonal cycles of distress and pain from which we see no way forward.
In the same ways that couples can be the co-creators of their negative cycles of pain, through therapy couples can also be the co-creators of new ways of meeting each other’s needs, developing emotional closeness, and a secure and loving relationship.
For couples wanting to heal their relationships, I am trained in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT), a powerful tool that helps couples create a more connected, loving, resilient, emotionally safe, and intimate bond.
Cheryl Pearlman, LCSW
Therapist for individuals and couples
It’s time to heal the hurt. Let’s talk.
Email: cherylpearlmanpsychotherapist@gmail.com
Phone: (718) 514-3332