Counseling For Couples
Families Teens and Children on line and
in Person in Orange County California
When Divorce Feels Like The Answer - And That Thought Breaks Your Heart
I consider it an honor and a privilege to help you when you find yourself challenged by the need to make changes in your life - especially if your need to pivot has been forced on you by unfortunate decisions and/or actions made by another…I do not heap guilt or shame on anyone. I offer insight and the tools to change.
Specializing in Marriage and Family Therapy, especially when Complex PTSD and/or Complex Personality Disorders make healing harder
COMPLEX PTSD, COMPLEX PERSONALITY DISORDERS
Not enough Clinicians realize that their Clients have more than one issue going on. They try to treat the obvious symptoms, and the Clients never seems to regain full functionality. The Clinician is confused (because their intervention ought to work) and the Clients are frustrated, and go from Clinician to Clinician without symptom relief. It’s kind of insulting to Clients for Clinicians to think that your situation is simple. Really, your life is very complex, because if it was simple, you wouldn’t need outside help…
Every two years I choose an area of marriage and family therapy in which to refresh and/or expand my knowledge base. I realized something very interesting this year. I received my master’s degree in 2007. I was trained in the DSM-IV (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). However, since 2013 the psychotherapy profession has been using the DSM-V. That is now 13 years this new diagnostic manual has been in use.
So, what is different in the new manual? Actually, A LOT, which I just discovered, is unfortunate for Clients and Clinicians alike. You see, the old manual used a “5 Axis” system to diagnose Clients. The diagnosis determines the treatment plan – what the Clinician actually offers you during sessions. The new manual did away with the axis system.
Why does this matter? Like I said above, humans are NOT simple creatures. Everything you have experienced has created who you are today; how you act in relationships, how you react to stress, trauma. The new manual just looks at symptoms. The old manual looked at the whole person; their symptoms, their medical conditions, their social environments at home, with friends and at work, their economic conditions, and also their level of functionality. It’s like the new manual is describing how to drive from California to Rhode Island by only talking about California, while the old manual described the entire route through the entire country.
So now there is a new diagnosis; Complex PTSD which takes into consideration the Client’s entire life, not just one traumatic experience. Not only did I just finish studying this, I also studied Complex Personality Disorders – what Clients experience when they have personality disorder traits AND trauma, or depression, or ADHD or Bipolar Disorder.
I am excited to share that my tool kit now contains specific assessments to uncover what has made your “simple” issue complex, and thus explain why previous attempts to resolve difficulties have failed. AND, therefore, what interventions to offer you so that you finally reduce or completely eliminate symptoms. I would be honored to help you create relationships and the life you had always hoped for.
I have completed both Level 1 and Level 2 Training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy. I use Gottman Method Couples Therapy combined with John Gray’s theory of hormonal stress responses in men and women, and attachment theory, in my therapy work with you as a couple.
I have completed the one year training with TeenWisdom to be certified as a teen life coach. I have certifications in both domestic violence and batterers intervention. And, I have a certification in grief counseling. All of which I use when helping the entire family, or when you come to me for help with co-parenting.
Dr Mickey Wilson, Couples Specialist in Orange County, CA
Accepting new clients:
afternoon, evening and Saturday APPOINTMENTS available.
Call Dr. Mickey at 714-743-5612 or TXT
My office is located in Newport Beach, California - close to John Wayne Airport where Birch Street meets Mesa Drive by the Santa Ana Heights Fire Station.
Free Parking is available
20341 SW Birch Street
SUITE 320
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change
So, here is how I think about your situation…Choose your hard…being in an unhappy, unfulfillng marriage is hard. Being divorced is hard…this IS a choice, and a kind, compassionate, understanding therapist can help you decide which choice you can live with.
You are at a fork in the road. You have a decision to make - stay married or file for divorce. No matter which direction you go, your life will be different.
If you knowingly choose to stay in a marriage you question, how long will you be able to hang on?
If you choose to get divorced, your life will change completely. Financial planners will tell you what you are worth, monetarily, on any given day, and what it takes to liquidate and split investments, should you decide to separate/divorce.
Attorneys will tell you how long it will take and how much it will cost to get divorced. They don't do coaching, emotional counseling or therapy, so neither take into consideration the tidal wave of emotions that will hit you.
My job is to equip you with emotional tools which allow you to have an additional perspective. A different perspective allows you to make informed choices – because life is full of choices. I help you discover which choices you can live with…
A Failed Marriage Creates Unexpected Emotions
Grief for the loss of the kind of marriage you had hoped for, regret over fights and misunderstandings, wishing you could go back in time, confusion about what is really best to do... NOW WHAT???
I can offer you a safe quiet place to examine your options, what each will feel like, and what you can live with, and what you can live without. No shame. No guilt. No accusations. No stupid questions. So, it will feel more like coaching rather than counseling or therapy.
If you choose to stay married, your marriage will be so much better than before, because you will have a better understanding of yourself and your spouse. If you decide that your marriage will never work, then I can help you keep the divorce process amicable/civil so that no further damage is done to either of you, or your children.
Dr Mickey can help you put your relationship back together - call 714.743.5612 anytime to talk
ABOUT DR. MICKEY
Allow me the honor of sharing my 30 years of marriage and family counseling experience with you to help restore your relationship.
READY FOR THE NEXT STEP?
Contact me via email or phone about availability, scheduling a counseling appointment or other unanswered questions.
You can call (714)743-5612 or TXT anytime.
I offer BOTH in person and online counseling services through the PsychologyToday.com website. Once you have scheduled an appointment for an online session, I will email you the link for your private, confidential online session. Don’t wait to get help just because you are stuck at home.
Struggling in your relationship can feel like a high wire act on barbed wire. Counseling for you as a couple, or even your whole family, with Dr. Mickey, can help you create the relationship you always hoped for.
It’s ok to need help dealing with difficult personalities in your or your spouse’s family. Being on the same page to deal with rude, mean, drunk family members can make your relationship stronger and family events more joyful. Virtual sessions with Dr. Mickey can get you ready so that this year is different. Call 714.743.5612 and ask for a family event prep-session.
