My Approach to Helping
I specialize in taking couples from conflict to connection, tailored to the needs of the individual couple. My patients tell me that I come across as a warm, rather humorous individual who uses a very practical approach in therapy. I believe in first helping couples decide if they want to work on the relationship or not. (Called discernment). If so, I devote all my energy to helping couples move forward by learning new skills to communicate and feel connected. I also teach couples conflict resolution skills so they can disagree without being disagreeable- that is, communicate with respect and empathy. I strongly encourage "homework" between sessions designed to strengthen skills, develop common interests (if needed), and to learn to enjoy each other again.
More Info About My Practice
I accept many insurances for therapy in both my Orange and Long Beach locations. I have evening hours available for appointments.
Specific Issue(s) I'm Skilled at Helping With
I specialize in both discernment counseling and couples therapy. Discernment counseling is the short-term (1-5 sessions) process of helping mixed-agenda couples decide if they want to put in the effort and time to try and save their marriage. "Mixed-Agenda" means that one in "leaning-in" to working on it while the other is "leaning-out."
We work with both types of partners with the goal of increasing each partner's clarity, confidence and understanding of their decision, whatever it may be.
My View on the Purpose of Psychotherapy
For clients who commit to marriage therapy itself, therapy works as follows:
Step 1 We start with a one-hour session where both partners are seen together by Dr. Fiore in either the Long Beach or Newport Beach office The purpose of this first session is to begin assessing the problem, to get a sense of ?who you are,? and for us to decide if we are a fit for each other.
Step 2 In most cases, the next step is to see each partner individually for 45 minutes. This gives you an opportunity to confidentially present your point of view of things, and your feelings about the issues that are causing problems. During this session, your background and childhood home life are briefly discussed to see if they may be contributing in any way to your marriage issues.
Step 3 We begin meeting usually on a weekly basis for 90 minutes a session with both partners in attendance, although typically I will see each of you individually for part of the session, and will see you together for the remainder. Unlike many other therapies, we do not waste time on re-hashing fights you may have had during the week. Instead, we focus on:
1. How to better understand each other; improving communication.
2. Ways in which you both may see things very differently due to how you are each ?wired? which causes conflict between you.
3.Learning to tell the difference between perpetual unsolvable problems between you which all couples have (and how to deal with them) vs those issues that can actually be fixed.
4.Increasing your awareness of how you unknowingly may be triggering negative or traumatic responses in each other and then learn different reactions.
5.Exploring how each of you can learn to use Repair tools to fix things that more successful couples have learned to use effectively.
Important Factors for Choosing a Therapist
Assuming that the therapist has appropriate training to deal with your issue,you should feel a "connection" with your therapist to continue working with him or her. Research shows that the "relationship" is more important for good therapeutic outcome than the specific technique your therapist uses. But, give it some time (at least 3-4 sessions) before making your decision.
