Jill B. Knerr, LMFT
Marriage and Couples Therapist
Phone/Fax 610-691-2455
jbknerr@rcn.com
HomeServices
Premarital Counseling
In the midst of all the planning as your wedding day approaches, pre-marital counseling is an essential part as you embark in your new life together. Research indicates that couples who receive pre-marital counseling are less at risk for divorce.
Jill uses the Prepare-Enrich Inventory, which identifies strengths and areas of growth in the couple's relationship to help couples build on their strengths, while teaching them vital communication skills.
The topics covered include communication styles and skills, finances, parenting, sex, and family patterns.
Local clergy contact me to provide premarital counseling. Also, couples who are planning to get married can directly contact me.
Generally we meet for 3 or 4 sessions at least 6 month prior to the wedding date. Often couples enjoy learning these relationship skills and continue beyond the initial sessions.
Marital/Couples Counseling
Living with another person can be both fulfilling and challenging. Balancing individual needs with couples needs is a relational skill that takes time to develop. These skills are both practical and achievable. Counseling can help cultivate those skills, allowing your marriage to flourish.
Becoming Parents
One of the best gifts a parent can give a child is a healthy vibrant marriage. Adding a baby to the mix of married life has many joys and challenges. Often a couple's dynamics change with the addition of children. Parenting styles, sleep deprivation, finding couple time, sharing your partner with the baby/children are all milestones to be worked through.
This is a critical time in the life of a couple. Counseling can be a place to help parents successfully transition into their new roles.
Marriage/Couples Enrichment
Being together for a lifetime is a challenging endeavor. All couples go through dry spells, winters in their relationship. Yet working through the difficult times can add a richness to a couples love and commitment to each other. Longevity can add a depth to a couple’s love. It takes skills which are very practical and achievable to make love last a lifetime. Counseling can help cultivate those relational skills.
Divorce
At times, for a variety of reasons, couples decide that it is time to end their marriage. While this can be a difficult time, counseling can be a tool to end the relationship and say good bye to the marriage with dignity and respect. Co-parenting issues can also be addressed.
Remarriage
Starting over is often approached with much fear. Exploring the impact of past relationships and realizing opportunities to learn and grow from the past are some elements of counseling at this stage. Additionally, counseling can be helpful in negotiating the unique challenges of blended families.
