Marriage Counseling Archives | Carrollton Christian Counseling

5 Relationship Types and How to Strengthen Your Bonds

5 Relationship Types and How to Strengthen Your Bonds

Mccartney Paul, Kate Motaung2025-05-22T07:08:50+00:00May 22nd, 2025|Couples Counseling, Featured, Individual Counseling, Marriage Counseling, Relationship Issues|

Relationships are a part of life, but why? If we have learned anything during the pandemic, it has been that although isolation is necessary for particular seasons of our lives, we thrive when we are part of a social circle. This circle can include your spouse, children, parents, siblings, coworkers, or the friendly mail delivery carrier. You choose the people and how much access they have to your life. Knowing the five relationship types and how you can strengthen those bonds can serve you well in every area of life. Why Relationships are Necessary Positive relationships are necessary for the formation of social skills and happiness. Different types of relationships fulfill various needs throughout life and can result in better emotional and mental health. Not feeling alone, even when you are struggling, is crucial to avoiding specific mental condition symptoms such as depression. Relationships, even the hard and toxic ones, help build emotional resilience. Resiliency will help you overcome challenges throughout life and move forward instead of staying “stuck,” reliving hurt, disappointment, or trauma. Relationships provide a support system and other people to share your burdens. When going through something challenging, you want people who love and care about you to help stand in the gap. Relationships allow you to support others and be a blessing when they need it. As relationships form early, those bonds may shape the person you become. But remember, even if your relationships throughout childhood were tumultuous, you have the resources to lead a different life. You can choose to surround yourself with people who can push you to learn more, think differently, and act appropriately. The relationships you choose later in life can either bless you or harm you. Not every relationship needs to be a close, intimate one to benefit you. Building [...]

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Advice for Newlyweds in Carrollton: Embrace Independence

Advice for Newlyweds in Carrollton: Embrace Independence

Stephanie Kramer2025-03-26T10:13:26+00:00March 24th, 2025|Couples Counseling, Featured, Marriage Counseling, Relationship Issues|

Looking for advice for newlyweds in Carrollton, Texas? This may seem counterintuitive, but it works. If marriage is all about unity and becoming one with your partner, why would any sensible therapist tell you to embrace independence? While being a Christian couple in Carrollton means unifying and becoming one in Christ through marriage, it does not mean you should completely abandon the unique individual God made you to be. It’s important to create personal space and maintain a degree of separation from your partner. In the Bible, the concept of a married couple becoming “one” is introduced in Genesis 2:24: “Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” This phrase is significant and is echoed throughout Scripture including in the New Testament by Jesus in Matthew 19:5 and by Paul in Ephesians 5:31. The most immediate and literal meaning is the physical and sexual union between husband and wife. In marriage, couples join together in an intimate relationship that is both exclusive and binding. But beyond the physical aspect, becoming “one flesh” also signifies emotional and spiritual unity. Marriage is intended to be a deep and loving relationship where individuals support and understand each other on a profound level. Furthermore, in becoming “one flesh” the couple develops a shared identity and purpose. They are no longer two separate individuals but are united in their common goals, values, and direction in life. This unity does not erase individuality but rather complements and enhances it. In Ephesians 5:31-32, Paul draws a parallel between the union of husband and wife and the relationship between Christ and the Church. The marital relationship is intended to reflect the sacrificial love, unity, and commitment that Christ has for His Church. As Christians, [...]

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How to Find Support and Healing After Infidelity

How to Find Support and Healing After Infidelity

Cyndi Kay Green2025-02-04T06:21:33+00:00February 4th, 2025|Couples Counseling, Featured, Individual Counseling, Infidelity and Affairs, Marriage Counseling, Relationship Issues|

Infidelity in a relationship can be a challenge to recover from. A person can be unsure about pursuing forgiveness and restoring the marriage to what it once was. The discovery of infidelity not only feels as though life has imploded, but it can also feel as though the entire marriage has been a farce, making healing after infidelity difficult. Healing after infidelity begins with the most challenging part: forgiveness. Until a person finds a way to let go of the bitterness, there will be no peace in any of the decisions that are made. Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18:21-22, ESV There are many ways to pursue healing after infidelity. This pursuit begins with making an intentional choice to heal regardless of what may seem to be ruined. Just as with any other process, it is important to recognize what the goal is and to get clarity about that goal. These four important questions may help you take the first step in healing after infidelity. Can you forgive your partner? Can you become committed and trust your partner again? Have you released the anger toward your partner? Can you move forward? After asking yourself these questions, it is time to begin taking steps to heal. Recovering the Relationship Each relationship is different and special. It revolves around the people involved, and it is specific to how they relate to each other. This means that recovery after infidelity is different for each couple. While it may look different, there are phases that relationships typically experience as they engage in the healing after [...]

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How to Walk Alongside Your Depressed Husband

How to Walk Alongside Your Depressed Husband

Mccartney Paul, Kate Motaung2025-01-07T03:58:54+00:00January 6th, 2025|Couples Counseling, Depression, Featured, Individual Counseling, Marriage Counseling, Men’s Issues, Relationship Issues|

Seeing a person we love going through a hard time is heart-wrenching. We want to do all we can to love them, to make them feel loved, supported, and understood. It is possible in many situations – especially that of a depressed husband – to begin to feel powerless, especially when our presence does not seem to be making a difference. In this and other situations, remember that your empathetic presence by itself can make a difference, and you must hold onto that when it seems otherwise. If your husband is struggling with depression, you may not know how to be that empathetic presence for him. On the other hand, you may wonder if what you are doing is making a difference. Hopefully, the words below will encourage you in your journey with your depressed husband. Supporting a Loved One with Depression Depression is a common mental health problem that afflicts people from all walks of life, all genders, cultures, and ethnic backgrounds. It can afflict those whom we may perceive as strong. It is often shocking for many wives to see their husbands bowed down by depression. As with any other condition or situation, one of the first ways you can function as a meaningful support is to understand what it is your husband is dealing with. Depression is a mood disorder that affects how a person feels, thinks, and functions in daily life. Something is going on not only in the person’s body but also in their mind and brain chemistry as well. Often, depression is signaled by feelings of intense sadness which last for weeks and months. It can be tempting to think that your depressed husband just needs to push through this and get to the other side. Depression requires treatment, and it does not [...]

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Regaining Joy After Pregnancy Loss

Regaining Joy After Pregnancy Loss

Cyndi Kay Green2025-04-24T08:07:04+00:00January 10th, 2024|Couples Counseling, Featured, Grief Counseling, Individual Counseling, Marriage Counseling, Women’s Issues|

Losing a loved one is tough. Losing a child is tougher. There is something about losing a child that hits differently. A parent shouldn’t lay a child to rest in a casket. But it happens quite a bit. It has been happening since the garden. One of the most complicated losses is pregnancy loss. Questions and grief plague the minds of the parents. There is not as much closure with pregnancy loss as there is in other instances of losing a child. Throughout God’s word, we see parents losing a child. We try to imagine the pain, but unless we have experienced the loss firsthand, we don’t quite understand the gravity of that pain. One of the first examples of child loss is Able. This wasn’t a pregnancy loss, but it was still a time when parents lost a child. Parents must grieve, but it is also important that they regain joy. We can read in the Bible how Eve may have been grieving the loss of Abel when she gave birth to another son by the reason she gave for naming him, Seth. She states that God gave her a child in place of the one she lost. Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, “God has appointed me another child in place of Abel, because Cain killed him.” – Genesis 4:25, NASB There is no replacing one child for another. But when you do decide to have another child after pregnancy loss, you can begin to find the joy that babies bring. This is not to say that you have forgotten the loss, it simply means that you are regaining joy. Carrollton Christian Counseling can support you through this healing process with compassion [...]

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Partners for Life: Bible Verses on Love and Marriage

Partners for Life: Bible Verses on Love and Marriage

Kate Motaung2025-05-14T16:40:01+00:00November 15th, 2023|Couples Counseling, Featured, Marriage Counseling, Relationship Issues, Spiritual Development|

When He was asked what the greatest command in the whole of Scripture was, Jesus answered that it all hangs on love. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40, NIV). All that we do in life ought to revolve and flow from loving God and our neighbor. This applies to marriage as well as to any other relationship. Together, for life. Marriage brings two people and binds them together for life. Though we decide to get married, it’s God who is joining the two and making them one flesh. Jesus reminds us of this profound reality when He was responding to a question about divorce by saying: “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” – Matthew 19:4-6, NIV The marriage bond should not be dissolved by us because God designed marriage to be permanent from the beginning. Marriage is bigger than us; it is a symbol of how Christ loves and cleaves to His Church. Carrollton Christian Counseling is here to help couples nurture this sacred bond, providing guidance and support to strengthen marriages in alignment with God’s design. Pondering the same verses from Genesis 2, Paul writes “‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united [...]

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How to Get the Most Out of Christian Couples Counseling

How to Get the Most Out of Christian Couples Counseling

Kate Motaung2025-04-22T07:18:05+00:00May 5th, 2023|Couples Counseling, Featured, Marriage Counseling, Relationship Issues|

Romantic relationships are one type of relationship where we get to express the diverse meanings of the word love. With your spouse, you are friends, you are lovers, and you walk together through all the seasons of life. These relationships will have their moments of beauty, but they will also have bits of ugliness as when the couple is selfish or inconsiderate toward one another. Couples must contend with changes within themselves and their counterpart, holding firm to their commitment to one another through different seasons of life. Challenges arise, and couples deal with these with varying levels of success. Carrollton Christian Counseling can help couples navigate these challenges with faith-based guidance and support. Every couple has its own story of triumphs and struggles, but they also have unique skills and resources with which to address the struggles they face. Couples counseling is an effective tool that a couple can make use of as they work through challenges and different life seasons. If a couple decides to pursue couples counseling, it can help them resolve conflict, address the impact of infidelity or emotional distance, and equip them to address future issues that may crop up. However, when they enter into counseling they must do so with a certain mindset. Counseling only works when people put in the necessary work to improve their relationship. If one is not open to making an effort and doesn’t welcome change and growth, then counseling will not be effective. Below are some pointers on how to get the most out of Christian couples counseling. Optimizing your Christian couples counseling experience Agree to work at it together. When you begin, it may be that only one of you felt the need to go for counseling. That’s okay. But if you both agree to go for counseling, you [...]

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My Husband is Depressed. How Can I Help?

My Husband is Depressed. How Can I Help?

Kate Motaung2025-04-22T06:23:18+00:00December 12th, 2022|Depression, Featured, Individual Counseling, Marriage Counseling, Men’s Issues, Relationship Issues, Women’s Issues|

Loving someone who is depressed can be hard. Many times, spouses feel helpless as they watch the person they care so much about suffering. It is difficult when all you want to do is help and it feels impossible to know how. If your husband is depressed, perhaps this article will help. Additionally, people who are depressed sometimes release their feelings and frustrations toward the people they feel safe with, often a spouse or a loved one. This can mean you are juggling the longing to help your spouse as well as your feelings about how you are treated. Carrollton Christian Counseling can help both you and your spouse navigate these difficult dynamics, offering guidance to support your relationship and emotional well-being during challenging times. If your husband is depressed, it is not just their struggle. You have your own experiences and feelings to navigate. What is depression? Before you can look at how to help your husband, you need to understand what depression is. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.” Sometimes referred to as major depressive disorder or clinical depression, daily activities can become difficult for those suffering as depression affects how you think, feel, and behave. It is important to understand that being depressed is more than an occasional feeling of sadness or having the blues. It is not something that patients can simply turn off. Depression is a medical condition that requires treatment. Medication, therapy, or a combination of the two often have a positive impact on treating depression. Common signs of depression can include sadness, hopelessness, anxiety, changes in sleep or eating habits, anger, difficulty concentrating or completing tasks, unexplained physical ailments, and even suicidal thoughts. People with depression can [...]

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