Meribeth Robinson

I want to welcome you to my website! I hope the information provided is helpful and if there are any questions as you read through the information please email me at mb@meribethrobinson.com. I will do my very best to answer your questions or guide you to where you might receive an answer if I am not able to help you.

I want to spend a few minutes to tell you a little about me. I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) are mental health professionals trained in psychotherapy and family systems, and licensed to diagnose and treat mental and emotional issues within the context of marriage, couples and family systems.

Marriage and family therapists are a highly experienced group of practitioners, with an average of 13 years of clinical practice in the field of marriage and family therapy. We evaluate and treat mental and emotional disorders, other health and behavioral problems, and address a wide array of relationship issues within the context of the family system. (If you would like more information about Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist visit www.aamft.org.

In my practice, I work with children, teens and young people individually, but always with the parents/guardians involved. I was trained as a Family Therapist and look at the youth as a “part” of the system, not the only part of the system. I really need the assistance of the parents/guardians to bring change. There are times I work with the entire family and never work individually, it depends on what the needs are with the family.

In most areas of my practice I come from a systems perspective, even working with adults in individual therapy. There are many systems that surround an individual, their immediate family, extended family, friends, work, an array of systems affect their lives. I do look for where the challenges are occurring and how I can help bring about change.

I work with many different issues affecting couples. Some couples come in because they want to learn a different way of communicating, but are not in any way close to wanting to end their marriage. Some come in because they are not communicating, there is a lack of connection, emotionally and intimately. These couples say, “We want to be together, but if something does not change we do not want to continue.” They want to be together but need guidance to change their patterns. Some couples attend therapy because there has been an affair.

Whether I work with children, teens, families or couples, there are universal concepts that apply across the board, here are a few…

1. Everyone deserves to be happy. Happiness tends to be a challenge to achieve on a consistent basis. However, it can be, consistent, the first step is to believe this can occur. A statement I make a lot in sessions is, happiness does not mean bad, sad or even terrible situations do not occur. What it means is, we do not stay in those situations too long.

2. Most of us live out of Fear. Part of why we cannot find happiness is because fear gets in the way. Fear causes us to have certain thoughts, which cause certain feelings and actions. We are on “autopilot.” Part of the work in therapy is to understand what causes us to be on autopilot and what do we do to change.

3. We create patterns and habits for how we relate to our self and others. We have to believe we are important. If we do not believe this, we develop patterns and habits that begin to support the idea that we are not important. If you have ever attempted to change a habit, it is very difficult. We have cravings to continue the habit. It takes a great deal of courage to overcome the cravings. This is similar to what occurs when we have emotional habits and patterns. We know rationally, we want to feel better but there is a craving to continue the same behavior. This is part of the autopilot.

I have given you a small glance into how I practice. Again, if there are any questions, or you want to come and talk about how you can have the best life possible, in fact you deserve to have the best life possible, please email me, mb@meribethrobinson.com.