Discover how starting couples therapy can support your own journey toward a happier, more fulfilling life.
8 therapists available in Edison
As a CIS identified woman of color, I understand the unique issues of identity exploration and intersectionality....
About
As a CIS identified woman of color, I understand the unique issues of identity exploration and intersectionality.
Georleena Douglas is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) with 4+ years of experience practicing with adolescents and adults. Georleena specializes in anxiety, depression, sexual wellness and minor trauma, especially within the black community.
Georleena earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Queens College. She earned her Master's degree in North Carolina State University, where she received her Master's degree. She utilizes cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), solution-focused therapy (SFT), and holistic therapy, among other approaches.
Georleena will work with clients to address the source of their concerns and issues and how to use their strengths and mindfulness to overcome them. She looks forward to helping clients from all backgrounds, especially those in the black community. Schedule your session today.
Education and training
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I have always been fascinated by the power of human connection, and in my work, I strive to create a safe and supportive space whe...
I have always been fascinated by the power of human connection, and in my work, I strive to create a safe and supportive space where clients feel seen, heard, and understood—free from judgment.
I am a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with 7 years of experience supporting clients through life transitions, emotional challenges, and personal growth. I specialize in helping individuals manage anxiety, depression, stress, relationship concerns, self-doubt, and issues related to confidence, boundaries, and communication. My work is centered on creating a warm, collaborative, and grounded space where you can explore your experiences at a pace that feels right for you.
I earned my master’s degree in social work from Rutgers University. My approach integrates cognitive behavioral therapy, solution-focused strategies, motivational interviewing, and mindfulness-based techniques. I tailor treatment to each person’s needs, focusing on building insight, developing practical coping skills, and strengthening emotional resilience.
My commitment is to help you feel supported, empowered, and understood as you navigate healing and growth. You deserve a space where you can be yourself without fear of judgment. Whether you want to process difficult emotions, gain clarity, or work through barriers affecting your well-being, I am here. I would be honored to support you on your journey.
Having experienced my own moments of difficulty, I approach therapy with deep empathy and a belief in each person’s capacity to gr...
Having experienced my own moments of difficulty, I approach therapy with deep empathy and a belief in each person’s capacity to grow, heal, and thrive.
I am a Licensed Social Worker with 4 years of experience helping clients navigate life transitions, identity exploration, and the challenges of balancing relationships, work, and personal well-being. My approach is warm, collaborative, and relational, creating a space for growth and trust. I specialize in supporting individuals managing anxiety, depression, or trauma, and I have a passion for empowering young adults to build self-awareness, resilience, and meaningful connections.
I earned my Master’s in Social Work from Smith College School of Social Work. My style is trauma-informed and client-centered, integrating cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and strengths-based approaches to help clients explore emotions, build insight, and develop healthy coping skills.
Therapy with me is a collaborative process rooted in trust and empathy. I aim to help clients reconnect with their inner strengths, find balance, and create lasting change. Whether you’re processing past experiences, improving relationships, or seeking greater emotional clarity, I would be honored to support your path toward healing and growth.
Anthony Rizzo is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) who has great enthusiasm for patient-centered care. Anthony has worked wi...
Anthony Rizzo is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) who has great enthusiasm for patient-centered care. Anthony has worked with clients in settings ranging from in-community to residential to inpatient, picking up valuable experience with a wide variety of different age ranges.
Anthony completed his bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Rutgers University and his Master of Arts (MA) in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Kean University. After working on the frontlines of the mental healthcare system, Anthony realized that he would be in a better position to serve patients in a clinical position. After years of working in the field, he is finally in the position that he has always wanted to be in.
Anthony feels that the most important person in the room is the client and takes great care to make sure that they are fully integrated in each step of the counseling process.
With over 20 years of experience, I look forward to supporting you on your journey toward peace, healing, and self-acceptance....
With over 20 years of experience, I look forward to supporting you on your journey toward peace, healing, and self-acceptance.
Patricia Ruggiero is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 20 years of experience supporting individuals with anxiety, depression, trauma, and life transitions. She has managed community programs, led clinical teams, and provided psychotherapy in agency and private settings. She works best with individuals seeking guidance, structure, and a supportive space to grow. Her ideal client is someone ready to explore meaningful change, improve emotional resilience, build greater independence in their life, and thrive.
Pat earned a Master’s in Social Work from Kean University. She uses a solution-focused, person-centered approach rooted in cognitive behavior therapy to help clients identify strengths and set goals with clarity. Her crisis intervention and advocacy experience allow her to support complex needs with compassion and structure for real-life progress.
Pat understands how overwhelming life can feel when you’re trying to navigate challenges alone. Therapy is a space where you don’t have to have it all figured out. She offers a calm, supportive environment where you will work at your pace. She would be honored to walk with you toward greater peace and confidence.
As a trauma-informed therapist grounded in social justice, I believe that people’s experiences don’t occur in a vacuum, and I’m co...
As a trauma-informed therapist grounded in social justice, I believe that people’s experiences don’t occur in a vacuum, and I’m committed to creating a safe and welcoming space where you feel heard, seen, and empowered to pursue your goals.
Agnes Kontoh is a Licensed Social Worker with 2 years of experience providing therapeutic services to children, adolescents, adults, and families in various mental health settings. Agnes integrates a trauma-informed and social justice-oriented perspective into her practice, ensuring that each client feels seen, heard, and supported in the context of their lived experience. Agnes has worked with clients navigating depression, trauma, anxiety, substance misuse, and ADHD.
Agnes earned a Master’s in Social Work from Montclair State University. She draws on evidence-based modalities tailored to each client’s unique needs, including cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, trauma-informed care, Christian counselling, strengths-based therapy, solution-focused therapy, and family systems theory.
Agnes believes that healing begins with connection and empowerment. If you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or simply need someone to talk to, she welcomes you to reach out. Agnes is ready to meet you where you are and walk alongside you on your journey toward healing and personal growth.
I subscribe to the philosophy that all people bring unique perspectives and strengths to the therapeutic process, and I strive to ...
I subscribe to the philosophy that all people bring unique perspectives and strengths to the therapeutic process, and I strive to help clients recognize their own strengths and build on those assets within the framework of a supportive and nurturing therapeutic relationship.
Marya Slater is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Professional Registered Nurse who is experienced working with individuals and couples. Her specialties include infertility issues, LGBTQ+ issues, depression, anxiety, stress management, grief, relationship issues, and chronic illness. Subscribing to the philosophy that all people bring unique perspectives and strengths to the therapeutic process, Marya strives to help clients recognize their own strengths and build on those assets within the framework of a supportive and nurturing therapeutic relationship.
Marya obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from New York University and her Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University. Her diverse educational background has enabled Marya to explore therapeutic issues through a broad lens. She maintained a private therapy practice in Manhattan for over 10 years.
Marya works from a psychodynamic perspective believing that underlying patterns of behavior can be addressed by utilizing the therapeutic relationship as a vehicle for change. Rather than endorsing a singular methodology, Marya also utilizes techniques from other therapeutic perspectives such as cognitive behavioral therapy and solution-focused approaches to help clients achieve short-term goals while working to address deeper issues in order to live more satisfying, fulfilling lives.
I am here to be supportive, empathetic, and knowledgeable as you move through difficult times....
I am here to be supportive, empathetic, and knowledgeable as you move through difficult times.
Tara Garie is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in New Jersey and Pennsylvania with over 9 years of experience providing therapeutic services. She helps teens, adults, and seniors to better cope with stress, life transitions, depression, anxiety, and many other types of disorders. Tara also has experience working with grief and gender identity issues.
Tara achieved her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from East Stroudsburg University and her Master's degree in Counseling and Human Services from Lehigh University. She often utilizes mindfulness, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), person-centered therapy (PCT), and motivational interviewing.
Tara is passionate about working with adults and adolescents on their path to make positive life changes and work towards overall mental wellness. She believes that therapy is a collaborative journey that the client and therapist take together. If you're interested in working with Tara to address your mental health needs, schedule your first session today.
You deserve dedicated time with a mental health professional — it can be life-changing.
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The approach I utilize most is reflective listening, including “listening for the deeper truth” and reducing “listening errors.” Once listening skills are established, I focus on communication and problem-solving strategies, including compromise and compassion-based formats. I find that couples benefit most from this approach due to the emotional safety that is elicited when individuals feel heard and appreciated. Many times during treatment, sessions can become heavy and bring about difficult emotions and tenseness. To counteract the consistent heaviness, I incorporate humor and lighter conversations into therapy. Clients have reported helpfulness and appreciation with this approach.
I utilize eclectic modalities for couple's counseling, including family systems tools, pieces of Gottman's themes (I am in the process of participating in this training), compassion model tools, as well as psychodynamic tools. When the individual's experiences and values on both sides of the couple are processed, themes emerge that allow for reflection-based changes.
Client's self-reports are the best indicators of their progress! I love hearing when couples state significant changes in the home, relationship, and/or with their children. I have been recently told that, after ten years, signs of love and trust in someone's relationship have been increasing. I notice positive growth when couples mirror statements back to one another during sessions, relaxed postures and vocal tones are implemented, and general emotions of happiness are displayed. I frequently ask what tools or skills have been helpful or unhelpful, and when frequent use of helpful concepts is shown, it is an effective indicator of change. I have witnessed increased smiling, increased interpersonal validation, and increased willingness to compromise.
Clients would benefit from engaging in unified activities to promote growth and healthy conversation while avoiding what I call “hot topic” arguments (i.e. finances, intimacy, child raising) until the appropriate skills are learned. Couples may practice dialogue approaches used in sessions during supplemental time, including assertive tone and person-first language. I encouraged clients to participate in personal leisure when necessary with the purpose of developing boundaries and self-care.
Couples could gain a clearer picture of their needs prior to the session by sitting down with one another and creating a breakdown of the most to least sensitive topics. By having this conversation, couples can present a format for how to best use their time and solve the most pressing hardships first. I enjoy examining what works best in a relationship to help support the couple with strength and hope-based approaches to counseling. The couple can also brainstorm how to best share equal time in session to maintain a fair and productive dynamic.
Thriveworks Couples therapy helps couples work through their specific relationship issues. It is led by licensed professionals — often licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFTs) — who are experts in their field and best-equipped to help couples. Some examples of common focuses within couples therapy include:
Couples therapy works by helping couples identify and better navigate their unique challenges. Following an initial assessment of the couple in terms of strengths and needs, the therapist would then discuss their therapeutic goals and any possible approaches or ways of working together as therapist and couple.Couples attend sessions together, whether they meet in person or by video. In addition to regular couples therapy sessions, each partner may also be asked to attend a few individual sessions to supplement their progress. This will allow their counselor to get to know each individual better, assess each of their personal needs, and develop the very best treatment plan moving forward.
Couples therapy at Thriveworks is conducted both in person and via Online therapy. We encourage you to choose the option that works best for you and your partner.
On average, couples attend couples therapy for 12 weeks. However, couples therapy may last longer or shorter, dependent on the couples’ needs, the challenges they’d like to work through, and the pace of their progress.
Differing priorities is a common problem in relationships. Working through this challenge isn’t always a piece of cake. Fortunately, doing so can be made easier with the help of a couples therapist. Couples therapists are trained to help couples work through these and other relationship issues. In addition to their training, they have developed specific skills and gained experience working with many couples—of whom run into challenges just like John and Erica and every other couple out there.
Couples therapy at Thriveworks Edison takes mental health care up a notch. Not only do they have the skills, training, and experience to help, but they truly care about their clients. They will utilize all of these elements to design an individualized approach to treatment just for you and your partner. So, if you and your partner could use a little help in working through a particularly difficult problem, consider reaching out to Thriveworks Edison. Or, if you and your partner are merely interested in improving a certain aspect of your relationship, we’re happy to help you with that, too. Either way, just give us a call. We’re here to help.
Couples therapy is designed to help couples work through the challenges in their relationship and/or improve their relationship as whole. It’s for new couples, who would like to improve their communication; it’s for couples who have been together for 5+ years who are struggling to get on the same page; it’s for new and old couples, with or without serious relationship issues.
That said, many of the couples who do seek out couples therapy do so because their relationship is suffering. Here are several common relationship issues that can be confronted in couples therapy:
The reason that many couples in couples therapy are suffering severely is that oftentimes, we wait until the very last minute to reach out for help. We do everything we can to resolve our problems ourselves. Why? Because we fear being judged or being seen as weak. We want you to know that choosing to work with a couples therapist is not a sign of weakness. Instead, it shows your true commitment to your relationship and your desire to make it work. In addition, we want you to know that there is no space for judgment at Thriveworks Edison Therapy. We will provide you with a safe space for working through your challenges and improving your relationship. And we’ll help you do it.
Couples therapy is an important and beneficial mental health service. As you can see in the list above, it has the potential to help people work through varying challenges. In addition, it can help couples better prepare themselves for challenges they might run into in the future. And, of course, it can help people to lay a stronger foundation for their relationship moving forward.
There are many benefits to discover and enjoy in couples therapy. If you think that you and your significant other could benefit from working with relationship expert—whether the current state of your relationship is poor, or you’d simply like to improve your already-happy-and-healthy relationship—consider reaching out to Thriveworks Edison Therapy. We have couples therapists and counselors who can provide you with this relationship help in in-person or online counseling. To schedule your appointment, simply call our office. We look forward to it!
Includes individual, couples, child/ teen, & family therapy
Includes reducing symptoms with medication & management
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