Have different ideas about your marriage?
If you are part of a mixed-agenda couple, discernment, understanding, and clarity are crucial to determining your path moving forward.
Confused about the future of your marriage?
I’ll Help You Find Clarity
Being in a relationship crisis is frustrating when you and your partner are unsure about your commitment to one another. It’s agonizing, discouraging, and destabilizing to go through each day in the status quo, just existing side by side.
This is where discernment counseling with me can help.
Maybe one of you has one foot in the door and one out, unsure of whether you should stay together.
Maybe one of you wants to stay together but doesn’t know if couples counseling will do any good.
So you’re stuck. Stuck in ambivalence.
Stuck in limbo. Stuck on the brink.
I can't recommend Jodi highly enough. From the first session, she created a space where I felt genuinely heard and never judged. Jodi kept the conversations balanced and combined empathy with practical problem-solving, giving me tools that I still use today.
Jodi's communication skills are exceptional, and she has a way of reframing things that helped me understand my partner in new ways. Above all, she kept things safe and constructive even during our hardest conversations.
– Sara
First off, It’s important to understand what discernment counseling is not. Discernment counseling is not couples counseling. It is not change and improvement-oriented. You won’t receive counseling on the necessary changes that need to be made to make your relationship work.
Discernment counseling in New York, Utah, Connecticut and Florida is for couples on the brink. It’s for “mixed agenda” couples: one of you is leaning in to the relationship with a desire to work it out, while the other is leaning out but not committed to separation.
What is discernment counseling?
Is Discernment Counseling Right For You?
If you are a mixed-agenda couple in a relationship crisis, discernment counseling with me before couples counseling is a wise decision. Simply put, discernment counseling is a short-term process that helps you confidently decide on a path forward in your relationship.
Your relationship is at a standstill, stuck in limbo
You both want to understand what’s happening and are seeking clarity
You are both interested in seeing if couples therapy might help
One of you has firmly decided
to leave the relationship
One of you is coercing or begging the other to attend
Both of you have already committed to working on your relationship (couples counseling is more appropriate in this case).
There are situations where discernment counseling is not appropriate. When cases involve domestic violence, child abuse, suicidal ideation or substance misuse, I will refer you to individual therapy or a higher level of care.
What You Should Understand About Discernment Counseling
The goal is to help you decide: The purpose of discernment counseling is to provide clarity, confidence, and direction for your relationship based on a deeper understanding of what’s happening and the contributions of each partner.
We won’t “fix” your relationship crisis in discernment counseling: When you partner with me for discernment counseling, you aren’t going to improve your relationship, learn new communication skills, and create more intimacy. That’s not what this is about. Those are things you would discover in couples counseling with me.
It’s short-term: Discernment counseling is a short-term process ranging from one to five sessions. You commit to one session at a time. After one, you decide if you want another, and so on, with a maximum of five sessions.
The structure is unique: In couples counseling, we work together to find a path toward reconciliation because both parties have the same agenda — to work on your relationship. In discernment counseling, we just try to determine if that’s what you should do.
You’re held accountable: In discernment counseling, I invite you and your partner to look in the mirror to realize and discover your part in your struggling relationship.
What to Expect from Discernment Counseling
The First Session: Online discernment counseling sessions last between 1.5 to two hours. In the initial session, we’ll discuss any background information about you and your partner.
Each Subsequent Session: If, after the first session, you both wish to continue, I will guide you through the decision-making process of which path feels right for you and your relationship, helping you gain more clarity, confidence, and direction.
To begin your journey to better relationships, simply fill out the brief contact form below. I will contact you to schedule your consultation. All services are conducted online.
You can also contact me via email at [email protected] or call me at (516) 217-4466.
Contact Jodi
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