This is a part of the Hot Topic podcast series from the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center on Relationships After TBI. Rosemary Rawlins, caregiver, discusses What Couples Counseling is Like from the Couples Perspective.

Seeing Dr. Kreutzer about our relationship challenges was a little bit unsettling at first, because I think we were both careful of each other’s feelings, you know, when you go into a counseling session you’re like I can’t say that in front of him, he’s like I don’t want to tell her how I feel. It’s just a little bit uncomfortable. But Dr. Kreutzer is pretty good at asking questions. And then they’re not yes and no questions, so you do have to give an answer and we started to open up and really talk more honestly.

And he would split us up at times and I would speak, he had a fellow working with him and it was Dr. Laura Taylor. And she would meet with me and he would meet with Hugh privately. So that we could maybe you know me speaking to another woman doctor and Hugh speaking to a man alone. And then we would come back together. And I think they had another set of questions after that that you know maybe we weren’t, didn’t know they were corroborating. But they probably were. And I think things like that really work well in counseling.

And so we did start to open up. And the more we opened up, the more tools we got in our tool chest to help communicate better, to relate better to each other, to understand where each other was coming from, and then move forward from that point on.

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