Will my health insurance pay for counseling?

Although most providers require you to take ultimate responsibility for paying your bill, health insurance may reimburse you or your healthcare provider for medically necessary treatment for covered, diagnosed conditions that impair your ability to function. They do not generally pay for counseling to relieve stress, enhance or maintain wellbeing or prevent problems down the road.

The exception to this rule is that some employers provide employee assistance programs which offer limited counseling for short term problems or crisis. Often these programs are limited to three sessions and then they refer you on to another provider for further treatment, which, if it is medically necessary may be covered by insurance.

That means you must

• Be diagnosed with a condition that meets the standard diagnostic criteria (these conditions are described in detail in a manual: (DSMIV).
• Be unable to function normally without treatment.
• Receive treatment intended to relieve that condition.

Finally, you must be willing to release that information about yourself to your insurance company and willing to have that information in your permanent medical record.

Whoa…What about confidentiality?

You should have complete confidentiality (assuming you don’t present a threat to yourself or others) if you are paying for your own care. If you ask your insurer to pick up the tab, legally, they gain complete access to your record. Once you grant your therapist permission to contact them, you have given up confidentiality regarding them. Of course, insurers are also required to keep your records private (HIPAA). However, your information may end up being part of a database (MIB) that collects health records from insurance companies.

Practically speaking, the amount of information required by insurers varies considerably. Some only ever ask for a diagnosis and billing information. Others want a lot of specific personal information about your condition and the treatment plan, and expect to dictate the level of and length of care needed. Many experienced therapists avoid dealing with insurance companies like this. That’s why you may find the counselors your friends recommend may not take your insurance.

My problems aren’t a serious medical problem. Should I hold off on counseling until they are?

If that’s the case, it is often a very good idea to spend some money out of your own pocket to get counseling for stress, for relationship problems or to prevent more serious problems. Most healthy people find themselves depressed or anxious at some point. Getting help early can prevent a whole lot of suffering later, and it can help you avoid losing your ability to function at work or home. Short term counseling is no more expensive than, for instance, the 15,000 mile service to your car, a vacation or a new laptop.

I already have a therapist. Can my counseling there be covered by insurance?

You should check with your health insurance plan and with your therapist to see if your treatment can be covered by insurance. Not all plans cover mental health, although any company offering insurance in Chicago or in Illinois must also provide some coverage of mental illnesses.

Ok, this is difficult, but everyone has to learn to do it. By “it” I mean talking about sex, not just doing it. It’s best to choose a relaxed, semi-quiet time, when having sex is not on the agenda. I think it’s great to ask for permission to bring up a delicate topic and create a playful, non-anxious attitude in your own heart at the same time.

It takes a long time, sometimes a lifetime, to get full “ownership” of our sexuality. And 25 is still young. Also, premature ejaculation can also be a problem for older men and their partners as well. What’s amazing is that couples can go for decades without resolving this issue. Accommodating this problem is only a temporary solution. Once it becomes a pattern it is self reinforcing and very demoralizing to everyone.

Credible lovers will not be satisfied unless they have also satisfied their partner as well. Therefore, your husband should be at least as interested as you are in a solution.

There are physical techniques that you can use to delay ejaculation; however creating a strong erotic connection during lovemaking is a more effective approach. Couples who can focus on and “track” the ebb and flow of their partner’s arousal during lovemaking are usually successful with their love life. This is a skill that is rarely mentioned or taught. But it makes sense, since tracking with other people’s moods, thoughts, and ideas is also critical to social competence. Eye to eye connection, playfulness and a true desire to please as well as be pleased builds this erotic connection.

And, when the connection is lost, don’t be afraid to stop, “retrace your steps”, go back and find it again.

If your statements about your sexual expectations are wrapped in desire rather than complaint or criticism, these conversations will more likely be experienced as delightful, seductive invitations.

If your husband is defensive, hurt or angry, you should suggest that you have the conversation at a latter time - at his initiation. Whether or not he initiates that conversation will tell you a whole lot about whether you need professional help.

Failures of Compassion

Building and Maintaining Care Teams for your Church

Creating Health and Caregiving Ministries

Couples therapy is increasingly important and relevant with the rates of divorce and separation climbing. For those who are struggling with relational problems or considering ending their relationship, couples therapy is a tool for managing conflict and making healthy choices. For those who are married, partnered, considering making a long term – and hopefully final- commitment couples therapy can be a great resource to building intimacy and resiliency for the challenges every couple and family face. Finding a therapist who respects the strengths of your connection and who will take a strengths-based approach is important.

In 26 years of clinical practice I’ve learned creating a strong, intimate connection in your marriage is the most important, most meaningful and most challenging work that you can do. Despite the challenges facing all couples these days, marriage is the primary tool available to you for personal development and maturity. (I use the word marriage in the most inclusive sense, honoring those who are not permitted to legally marry and their relationships.)

I encourage you to face opportunities for growth and maturity within your relationship because it provides the necessary “lab” for the “growing-up” each of us can accomplish as adults. In couples therapy I create an atmosphere of respect for your relationship and each individual. I ‘hold the tension’ between couples as I work with each partner to develop the skills to manage their own anxiety within the relationship and take responsibility to work on healing themselves.

For starters, I will help you develop your capacity to risk yourself within your relationship and your ability to successfully invite your partner to do the same. Compromise, “better communication” and negotiation will help you collaborate but won’t build joy, intimacy or marital satisfaction. Compromise creates an atmosphere of disappointment and frankly, negotiating away differences may extract excitement from the relationship, causing a loss of eroticism. There are exciting, playful and incredibly satisfying options to giving up or getting out! As a human race, we are now exploring new frontiers in intimacy; it is a great joy to participate personally and professionally, in this process of human growth and development.

Depression: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml

Anxiety: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders/index.shtml

Grief: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/grief_loss.htm

Family Problems: http://www.aamft.org/families/index_nm.asp

Marriage Resources: http://www.smartmarriages.com/index.html

Healthy Marriage Rituals: http://www.smartmarriages.com/intentionalmarriage.html

What is Pastoral Counseling? http://www.aapc.org/history.cfm

Web References for Elizabeth Ritzman:

Marriage Friendly Therapists.com:

http://marriagefriendlytherapists.com/searchprofile.php?t_id=56&range=50

Premarital Counseling at The First Dance.com: http://www.thefirstdance.com/premaritalbioilritzman.php

Someone Cares Conference Bio: http://www.someonecaresonline.com/Speakers/Ritzman.html

“After the Honeymoon” in Brides Noir (Fall/Winter 2007) http://www.bridesnoir.com/

Recommended Books:

Thomas, Frank A.
Spiritual Maturity: Preserving Congregational Health and Balance

Schnarch, David
Passionate Marriage: Keeping Passion Alive in Committed Relationships

Schnarch, David
Resurrecting Sex: Solving Sexual Problems and Revolutionizing your Relationship

Neafsey, John
A Sacred Voice is Calling: Personal Vocation and Social Conscience

Markman, Howard J.; Stanley, Scott M.; Jenkins, Natalie H.; Blumberg, Susan L.; Whitely, Carol
12 Hours to a Great Marriage: A Step to Step Guide for Making Love Last

Bria, Gina
The Art of Family: Rituals, Imagination, and Everyday Spirituality

Sears, William
The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two (Revised and Updated Edition)

Gunderson, Gary
Deeply Woven Roots: Improving the Quality of Life in Your Community

Evans, Abigail
The Healing Church: Practical Programs for Health Ministries

Daniel, W.; Koenig, Harold
Healing Bodies and Souls: A Practical Guide for Congregations

Volf, Miroslav
Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation

Kidder, Tracy
Mountains Beyond Mountains : The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World

Jones, Kirk Byron
Rest in the Storm: Self-Care Strategies for Clergy and Other Caregivers

Paulsell, Stephanie
Honoring the Body: Meditations on a Christian Practice

Bass, Dorothy
Practicing Our Faith : A Way of Life for a Searching People

Bass, Dorothy; Wright, Lani; Richter, Don
Receiving the Day : Christian Practices for Opening the Gift of Time

Amos, William E.
When AIDS Comes to Church

Friedman, Edwin H.
From Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue

Black, Claudia
Depression Strategies: Practical Tools for Professionals Treating Depression

Black Claudia
It Will Never Happen to Me: Growing up with Addiction as Youngsters, Adolescents and Adults

About being connected to others/God in the struggle to be transformed/redeemed: Will You Hold the Light? by Caedmon’s Call on their album “Overdressed“:

Deeply soulful, healing hymns rendered by Bobby McFerrin (of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” fame) give voice to a full range of human emotion; they’ve been described variously as “pop”, New Agey, R&B, Overtly Christian, they include a compelling revision of the 23rd psalm in tribute to his mother and feature his father Robert McFerrin, Sr. in “Discipline“. Link:

Got Hope? Try this rendition of Over the Rainbow by Natasha Stith:

LOCATION:
AltCare Health Center

831 South Oak Park Avenue

Oak Park, IL 60304

Mapquest: Click

PARKING: Find Metered Parking on the street and behind the bank across the street.

Information for New Patients

Click here to Download the Word Doc: New Patient Information and Consent Form

New Patient Information: When you come for your first visit, you will receive information about counseling upfront and in writing. Feel free to print this and bring it along - with any questions- if you wish.

INTRODUCTION AND CONSENT TO TREAT:

Client(s) Name: _________________________

Address: ______________________________

Phone Numbers: ____________________________________

Date(s) of Birth ________________________

YOUR COUNSELING DECISION: This introduction is provided for you to take home, read and discuss (if you are in a couple or family), sign and return at the second session. You may copy this document for your own records. Your decision to enter counseling is a very important step in your life and growth. Whether this counseling is for you alone or as a couple, or as a part of a family, it is a gift - a gift of respect- for yourself and your relationships.

RISKS: Most studies show talk therapy to be a highly effective treatment, however not all people experience improvement from psychotherapy and therapy may be emotionally painful at times. Patients have the right to refuse or to discontinue services at any time. Therapy is not intended to be mysterious or harmful. Your concerns about the process of treatment and its effect on you will be welcomed at all times, and you are urged to bring any concerns about negative effects to the attention of your therapist right away.

FEE: Fees are based on our cost of providing professional services to you and on your ability to pay. Payment is made for a unit of service (a counseling session) and not for a certain number of minutes or participants. If ever you have concerns or difficulties with fees or payment, please let your therapist know right away. Although the usual session is 45 to 50 minutes, the precise length may vary. Often couples and families schedule “double” sessions. Call for our current fee schedule: (708) 848-9900 or email Elizabeth@elizabethritzman.com.

PAYMENT AND INSURANCE: Please pay at the time of service. In order to keep fees low, we have no billing service, nor do we take assignment from insurance companies. (However, we do bill for Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO.) We can provide you with the information you need to seek reimbursement from your insurance carrier. All client fees must be paid in full by the end of the month for counseling to continue. Periodically it may be necessary to adjust your fee, e.g. annually, or when weekly sessions become every other week or monthly.

SCHEDULING SESSIONS: For a successful therapy experience, it is important to establish an effective working relationship with the therapist with regular and consistent series of meetings. Sessions are usually scheduled one at a time either weekly, or every other week. On occasion, more frequent visits may be needed. Extended or double sessions are sometimes helpful, particularly for couples and families. During the time you are in counseling, plan to make your appointments one of the top priorities in your schedule.

Counseling requires the commitment of all parties involved. Clients usually find that it takes more than one session to determine if they have a good fit with their therapist. It also takes about 4-6 weeks for the therapist to complete a basic assessment and plan for treatment. If there is not a good fit, I am professionally committed to helping you find a therapist who will be a better match. This will be discussed with you during the initial session. You and I will develop your course in therapy together. If you should decide that you wish to terminate therapy, please give at least one week’s notice and plan for a summary interview to effectively end our work together.

Nothing about therapy is intended to be mysterious. Anything your therapist says or does is open for discussion. Please feel free to ask questions at any time about the therapeutic relationship or business matters.

CANCELLATIONS: Because your therapy is so important, your appointment is reserved for you and is not available to anyone else. Please call immediately if you must cancel. Cancellation of appointments without charge is possible only in the case of illness, injury or extreme emergency. Normal charges are incurred for missed appointments. If you must cancel, and if we are able to reschedule within that work week, you will not be charged for the first missed appointment.

CONFIDENTIALITY: Confidentiality is taken very seriously. As a client you have a legal right to have your work kept private. This is your right to confidentiality and it is generally the duty of your therapist not disclose to anyone anything you reveal in your session. As you begin your therapy journey, it is important that you talk with your therapist about the limits to confidentiality in therapy.

Most of the time these limits do not affect therapy. However, Illinois law does require that your therapist tell others about things you have talked about in therapy in certain cases. It is important that you understand these exceptions.

1. The courts can require your therapist to release details that involve murder, deciding mental competency, or in cases in which wills are challenged.

2. Your therapist must tell others if there is a clear risk of serious physical or other harm occurring to yourself or others. That is, if you threaten to hurt yourself or others your therapist is required by law to report that information.

3. Illinois law requires your therapist to report within 24 hours if he or she suspects child abuse or neglect.

4. Illinois law also allows your therapist to share details of your case with supervisors, consultants, appropriate staff, or others reviewing your case for the purpose of assuring the quality of therapy.

5. With your written permission, your therapist may reveal certain information to your insurance company. Usually you give that permission when you sign a claim form, or sign the following release.

6. With your direct written permission, your therapist can give information to others that you request; e.g. your physician or school counselors.

In our experience these limits to confidentiality rarely pose a problem for our clients. We feel that informing you at the onset of our work together adds to the trust that will grow between you and your therapist.If you are required to sign a release for psychotherapy records if you are involved in litigation or other matters with private or public agencies, think carefully and consult with an attorney and your therapist before you sign away your right to the privacy of your confidential medical records.

If you are bringing your children in for therapy, it is important to think about how we will work together to balance your need for information as a parent with the need of children to establish an open and trusting relationship with the therapist. In therapy children are encouraged to communicate directly with parents about counseling and all matters of importance. Often parents and children work together in therapy to facilitate this relationship.

TREATMENT OF MINORS:

In Illinois, children over the age of twelve can consent to their own brief mental health care if necessary. This is a new law, which has received the grateful support of most parents because it provides for the immediate care of children in high risk situations. However, it is our philosophy that the wellbeing of children is most often intimately tied to their relationship with their parent or parents or guardians. Respectful care of the whole family is our preferred approach to helping children.

In this office all clients have both rights and responsibilities.

You have the right to:

1. receive courteous, professional treatment at all times, including an atmosphere free of sexual harassment or abuse,

2. participate in the development of your treatment plan,

3. review your record and insert comments correcting personal information, in the presence of your therapist.

You also have the responsibility to:

1 cooperate with the goals you established with your therapist,

2 be present for all appointments; and

3 pay for counseling at the time of service.

Betsy Ritzman is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor. Her Illinois License number is 180-001294. She is a member of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. She has a Masters of Science in Counseling and a Master of Divinity in Pastoral Counseling. Please feel free to ask her about her credentials, experience, and any other information you would appreciate.

Consent to Treat I agree to attend (Fill in one): a) ___sessions, b)___Open ended sessions. The fee for my counseling as mutually agreed upon is ____ per session.

To use insurance if appropriate: I wish my therapist to disclose a diagnosis and other clinical information to my insurance company. Thus, (please sign the following:) “I authorize the release of any psychological information necessary to process insurance claims.”

Signature:__________________________ Date _____________

I have read, understood and accept the preceding information and guidelines about counseling and confidentiality.

Client Signature ____________________________ Date _______

Therapist Signature _________________________ Date ________

EMERGENCY NAME: If we need to contact someone in a dire emergency on your behalf who do you wish that to be? Fortunately, this is hardly ever necessary. Thank you.

Name ______________________________

Phone ______________________________

Relationship _________________________________________

MAIL

It is acceptable to contact me by mail: ___ Yes ___ No

HIPAA

At your first visit you will be required to sign a statement that you have received information about your rights under HIPPA. This is now a routine practice for all health care visits, including counseling and mental health care.

WHAT IS HIPAA?

“HIPAA” is an acronym for the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (August 21), Public Law 104-191, which amended the Internal Revenue Service Code of 1986. Also known as the Kennedy-Kassebaum Act, the Act includes a section, Title II, entitled Administrative Simplification, requiring:

1. Improved efficiency in healthcare delivery by standardizing electronic data interchange, and
2. Protection of confidentiality and security of health data through setting and enforcing standards.

More specifically, HIPAA called upon the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to publish new rules that will ensure:

1. Standardization of electronic patient health, administrative and financial data
2. Unique health identifiers for individuals, employers, health plans and health care providers
3. Security standards protecting the confidentiality and integrity of “individually identifiable health information,” past, present or future.

Who is affected? Virtually all healthcare organizations – including all healthcare providers, health plans, public health authorities, healthcare clearinghouses, and self-ensured employers – as well as life insurers, information systems vendors, various service organizations, and universities.

Are there penalties? HIPAA calls for severe civil and criminal penalties for non-compliance.

How does this affect my counseling? We meet the compliance requirements for HIPPA which include:

• Comprehensive assessment of our business privacy practices, information security systems and procedures, and use of electronic transactions.
• Our electronic billing service is secure and HIPPA compliant. If you wish you may opt out of e-commerce by asking our front desk staff. Infrequently, and only at the request and initiation of clients I will respond to emails. Our policies, processes, and procedures are intended to protect privacy, security and patients’ rights.

• Our business associate agreements support HIPAA objectives.
• We are developing and maintaining a secure technical and physical information infrastructure.
• We update information systems to safeguard protected health information (PHI) and enable use of standard claims and related transactions.
• We train all workforce members on HIPPA.
• We have developed and maintain an internal privacy and security management and enforcement infrastructure, including providing a Privacy Officer and a Security Officer, Dr. Cheryl Haugh 831 South Oak Park Ave. Oak Park IL 60304 (708) 848-9900.

More information about HIPPA is available at www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/

]]> http://www.elizabethritzman.com/2007/10/14/new-patient-information/feed/ http://www.elizabethritzman.com/2007/10/13/talk-before-theres-trouble/ http://www.elizabethritzman.com/2007/10/13/talk-before-theres-trouble/#comments Sat, 13 Oct 2007 22:32:06 +0000 Elizabeth http://www.elizabethritzman.com/2007/10/13/talk-before-theres-trouble/ If you ask marriage therapists about their most challenging cases, you will often hear that these couples sought help long after their first serious problems.

Marriage trouble is intensely personal. Few of us have seen our parents model the use of couples counseling. And, it’s hard to invest in a process where we become vulnerable, can’t predict how it will unfold and don’t have guaranteed outcomes.

What is predictable is that all marriages will have difficult times. Asking for help early is a predictor of success in couples counseling. Marriage is an incubator for grown-ups, since as newlyweds we never begin marriage fully mature. Making effective use of that incubator is made much easier with help from a compassionate, competent professional.

This is not what marriage was supposed to be like! Dinner was seldom on time, the house was often disorganized and his wife emotionally unavailable. Tia felt disappointed as well. Where did this stodgy business man, with his household budgets and demands for domesticity come from? Tia longed for the romance of her courtship and rebelled against the expectation that she become a domestic goddess. She began to doubt her attraction for her husband, comparing him negatively to the liberated actors on stage with her. These disappointments were unmentioned but their anger and conflict over small things mounted.

The ‘honeymoon’ stage of newlyweds or in early courtship is a wonderful time during the relationship when we try to present our best selves to new lovers whom we tend to idealize and who idealize us. Serious relational conflict is avoided. This phase is not always present in every relationship 100% of the time, but it is present often.

This is an important developmental time for relationships and it typically lasts around 6 months. During the first stages of marriage, we often see it last 6 months – two years, seven years is a long honeymoon phase.

Couples find that the honeymoon phase of their relationship inevitably ends -as it should. Couples eventually experience internal or external changes (childbirth, pressures from extended family or social networks) that require facing their unresolved conflicts as well accepting opportunities and invitations for increased intimacy. During this time, I often see couples experiencing conflicting worldviews on marriage which were supplied by their distinct experiences in their families of origin.

Many couples are devastated when their expectations are unmet, and when unexpected and competing marriage “contracts” threaten their previous domestic bliss. The marriage contract is a set of both conscious and unconscious expectations we hold for ourselves and for others about fulfilling the roles of “wife”, “husband”, “lover” etc. Not until we are deep inside the relationship do we discover what we really mean by “married”.

During the bonding stages in marriage and courtship, part of the natural idealization of the partner includes embedding in our love relationship all of our unconscious hopes and dreams for the resolution of all our previously unmet needs “ Ahh…now I will finally be loved perfectly by the one who is perfect for me”. Nearly everyone who has the courage to fall in love believes and hopes for perfect love. Often that hope lies beneath our awareness, and evokes a quiet disappointment that builds over time as we work to maintain our belief that our lover is perfect for us. This hope is created by a deep desire that all our deepest wounds and fears of inadequacy will be healed. During the honeymoon phase we are willing to forgive a temporary lapse in our loved one.
To some extent, elements of merger and emotional fusion in early marriage are inevitable and normal as part of the early enchantment of love. But well into the marriage, we have to face that some of these lapses are not temporary and that awakens our fears that we might not have secured the perfect, reliable and endless love sufficient to meet our appetite!

During therapy Sam and Tia identified their silent expectations for marriage. Sam realized he hoped his wife would surrender more willingly to traditional wife and mother roles, even though that isn’t the “type” of woman he sought. In part, his satisfaction as a husband, and self respect was hinging on his capacity to hold her in such a role. He recognized that these expectations mirrored the style of his own family and the way his mother functioned as a wife. Tia acknowledged that she was in part hoping that like her father, Sam would be gratified by supporting her dreams financially and make as few demands as possible – thus freeing her to focus on her career. Both partners used therapy to unravel their own hopes and dreams for marriage from the assumptions they brought with them from their families and share them with each other. Using that as a foundation, they were able to successfully resolve the conflicts – like Tia’s music career and Sam’s traditional expectations. These were deeply important matters which they chose to overlook in the flurry of courtship, wedding and honeymoon life.

Finding ways to hold onto the best and let go of the worst from youth is an important part of individual as well as relationship development. Marriages serve a valuable “incubator” purpose in helping us do this part of growing up and enter adult hood emotionally. But they do not magically resolve our unmet needs or emotional wounds. That is individual work. So, as the honeymoon phase of relational development comes to an end, marital partners began to struggle to shore up their individual identities. Negotiating an acceptable balance between individual and relationship identities is an essential skill. Developing that skill isn’t always easy.

Some of the signs that individuals are struggling with maintaining their own identity that cause difficulties in the marriage are:

1. 1. Aligning with families of origin, friends and work life against their partners.
   2. Emotionally disengaging from each other.
   3. Withdrawing emotionally from sex.
   4. Withdrawing sex.
   5. Placing the focus on areas of weakness in their partner.
   6. Consistently yielding self-interest rather than allowing conflict.
   7. Cultivating diminishing gender attitudes like “men (women) are so stupid!”
   8. Withdrawing from friends and family.
   9. Avoiding alone time.

It’s both wonderful and very hard to risk falling in love, and it’s also very hard to face the disappointments of our idealizations. However, moving through conflicts and finding not only resolution as a couple, but a clearer personal identity is the gateway to real intimacy.

There are a number of strategies couples can use to support a healthy balance between individual and relational lives. Create in the relationship a wide area of respect and celebration of differences – after all, differences are what attract us in the first place.

Support one’s partner’s emotional differentiation; autonomy and individuation, if necessary seek therapy to do this. Work for one’s own emotional differentiation, autonomy and individuation, if necessary in therapy. Emotional maturity is hard won, but it is the foundation of true intimacy.

Sex and intimacy can be two of the areas first affected when the honeymoon stage ends. Some of the issues couples may face include subtle shifts in their sexual connection when differences in sexual desire become apparent. Sometimes a loss of romance and shift in the relational dynamic occurs when children arrive or external factors like competing needs or families exert pressure on the marriage.

Common misconceptions couples cloud the thinking partners about sex and intimacy. Some of these misconceptions are:

1. 1. That old married couples don’t have a better grasp of “hot sex” than young married couples!
   2. That their partner should fulfill all their unmet emotional needs.
   3. That sexual differences are based on gender.
   4. That by virtue of falling in love and committing to marriage, they know all of what it takes to be married and have a great sex life.
   5. That they can upgrade to a better partner without changing themselves.
   6. That they can have a great marriage without growing and changing as an adult.

How can couples keep “the magic” that existed during the honeymoon stage for a longer period of time? Strong marriages come from couples who are willing to risk falling in love, willing to risk facing their disappointments and willing to resolving their conflicts. Couples who believe sufficiently in themselves and their partners can sustain their marriage even when the magic crumbles. That initial magic will soon be replaced by a deeper, more intimate and intensely more erotic bond.
For a therapy appointment with Betsy Ritzman in Oak Park, IL or background information on her please visit her profile.