Couples & Marriage Counseling
Most couples wait years longer than they need to. Counseling is more useful before a relationship is in crisis than after.
The common pattern is not a dramatic rupture. It is two people who have slowly stopped having the conversations that matter, who argue about logistics instead, and who each privately believe the other one changed.
Couples work is also for relationships that are basically sound and facing something hard: a new baby, a blended family, a move, an illness, an affair, or a decision about whether to stay together at all — which is a legitimate thing to bring to counseling rather than a failure of it.
We see clients at our Northbrook office on Academy Drive and our Libertyville office on Hollister Drive, and by telehealth anywhere in Illinois.
What couples come in with
- The same argument on repeat, with the subject changing and the shape never does
- Contempt, stonewalling, or one person pursuing while the other withdraws
- Rebuilding after an affair, or after a breach of trust that was not an affair
- Parenting conflict, including blended families and differing discipline approaches
- Intimacy that has faded, and the awkwardness of trying to raise it
- Deciding whether to separate — including doing that thoughtfully, for the children
How we work with couples
Our couples clinicians have advanced training in the Gottman Method — including Level 2 certification — which is built on decades of observational research into what distinguishes relationships that last. It is practical and structured: specific patterns get named, and specific skills replace them.
We also work with Emotionally Focused Therapy, which goes at the attachment layer underneath the arguments — the fear of not mattering that is usually driving the behaviour both people say they hate in themselves.
Sessions are with both partners. Where individual work would help one of you alongside the couples work, we will say so, and generally that means a different clinician rather than the same one holding both roles.
Clinicians who work in this area
Matched from each clinician's own stated specialisms. Our Intake Team will pair you with the right person for your situation rather than the next available slot.
- Marina Shakhman, Psy.D.Licensed Clinical Psychologist · Clinical Director
- Christine Petersen, Psy.D.Licensed Clinical Psychologist
- Frances Pacheco, Psy.D.Licensed Clinical Psychologist · BCFE
- Rebecca Rice, LCSW, R-DMTLicensed Clinical Social Worker · Registered Dance/Movement Therapist
- Gabby Clow, LPCLicensed Professional Counselor
- Olivia Romano, MA, LPCLicensed Professional Counselor
Insurance, including Medicare
Grand Oaks Behavioral Health is in-network with most major plans — Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Aetna, Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Evernorth (Cigna), UnitedHealthcare, BCBS Community Medicaid, Oscar — and with Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans, which a good number of behavioral health practices in the area do not accept. We also take BCBS Community Medicaid. Our Intake Team verifies your specific benefits and tells you your cost before your first appointment.
Where we see clients
604 Academy Drive, Northbrook, IL 60062 and 1800 Hollister Drive, Suite 201, Libertyville, IL 60048, plus telehealth anywhere in Illinois. We regularly see clients from Northbrook, Glenview, Deerfield, Highland Park, Northfield, Wilmette and across Lake County and the North Shore.
Common questions
It is harder, and it is not pointless. Individual therapy can shift a relationship on its own, because the pattern needs both people to continue. That said, the strongest predictor of couples work succeeding is both people showing up willing to look at their own part, so it is worth one honest conversation before booking.
An approach to couples therapy built on decades of research observing real couples, identifying the specific interaction patterns that predict whether a relationship lasts. In practice it means naming those patterns in your relationship and replacing them with specific, teachable skills. Our clinicians include advanced Gottman training at Level 2.
No. The work is on the pattern between you rather than on adjudicating who is right, which is usually the least useful question in the room. If something one of you is doing is damaging the relationship, a good couples clinician will name it — to both of you, in front of both of you.
Coverage for couples work varies more than individual therapy, because plans differ on whether relationship counseling is a covered mental health service. Our Intake Team checks your specific plan before your first appointment and gives you real numbers, including the self-pay rate, so you can decide knowing the cost.
Related
Not sure which of these fits? That is what the first call is for. Phone (847) 549-1189 and our Intake Team will talk it through with you before anything is booked.
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