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Christian Counseling for Difficult Relationships & Boundaries
Serving women in-person in Chambersburg and online throughout PA
Difficult relationships come in many forms and unhealthy boundaries stem from many underlying beliefs about ourselves, others, and God.
If you're struggling with a difficult relationship, welcome. You're in the the right place.
You know it shouldn't be like this
You’re stressed, overwhelmed, irritable, anxious, and depressed. You’ve become so used to the dysfunction in your relationship that you’re not sure what’s normal anymore.
In an effort to take back some control and escape from the stress, you turn to food, binge watching, napping too long, or zoning out on Instagram.
You’re not sure how to deal with the difficult relationship in your life in a way that honors God.
You know you can’t continue on like this, but you don’t know what God wants from you in this.
While we are called to love with a servant’s heart, we are not meant to reinforce sin in others and call it love.
Sometimes the best way to love others is to set boundaries
Difficult relationships come in many forms:
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an unhealthy or destructive marriage
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a parent who is overbearing or continues to say and do hurtful things
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a friend who is manipulative, overly-needy, or has betrayed you
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an adult child that is disrespectful, overly dependent, or estranged
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difficult coworkers or boss
We are often taught to be people-pleasers from early on.
But as followers of Christ, we are to serve others out of our love for Him, not out of a compulsion to please others or out of fear of how a person will react if we don’t do what they want.
If you’re dealing with a difficult relationship, I want to invite you to learn to develop healthy boundaries in a way that honors your faith and desire to love others well.
Imagine feeling the confidence to establish healthy boundaries in your difficult relationships
You could let go of the pressure to live up to another person’s expectations, feeling the need to over-explain yourself, or trying to get them to understand what they’re doing wrong.
Cultivating a life led by your identity in Christ releases the anxiety, frustration, depression, and other stressors that come from living a life based on the fear of other people.
Imagine having the space to cultivate healthy, deep relationships. Setting boundaries with others, as well as with yourself, can free you up to live more fully in the peace, joy, and purpose God has for you.
How I can help
My approach to counseling for difficult relationships and healthy boundaries is compassionate, practical, and at your pace. I will meet you where you are as I learn about you, what you're struggling with, and your goals. We will work together to equip you with tools and skills for life-long success.
Together, we will:
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Identify what you really want
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Uncover the underlying sources of the relationship difficulty
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Learn to reduce your stress responses and physical reactions
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Break free from unhelpful habits and behaviors
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Develop new, goals-based habits and behaviors
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Draw on your faith for your identity, worth, and purpose
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Equip you for life-long success
Even though you’re seeking Christian counseling, I know that you might be struggling with your faith in some ways. I will meet you where you are spiritually to incorporate your faith at your comfort level.
You may be struggling with a close family member or a husband and are afraid of what setting boundaries might do to the relationship.
Setting boundaries does not mean suddenly being overly-assertive, threatening, or telling the person everything they’re doing wrong.
It is much more about setting your own personal boundaries, inviting others to respect them, and letting them know what they can expect if they don’t. You can set boundaries in love, and, in fact, it may even help the other person to begin to develop healthier ways of interacting.
There are times, however, that clients decide to end a relationship that continues to be destructive. This is a decision only you can make. Counseling gives you the space and insight to explore the best options in your unique situation and take the best next steps for you.
Maybe you have tried to set boundaries before, but it didn’t work, and you keep getting sucked back into the unhealthy cycles of the relationship.
Difficult relationships often have times that seem like things are getting better, so it’s easy to let up on boundaries you’ve set when it seems like someone has changed.
Counseling can help you learn more effective ways of setting and implementing boundaries, while planning for barriers and pitfalls you might encounter.
It can also help you identify what would need to happen for you to trust that the person has actually changed. You will learn assertive communication skills to help stick to healthy boundaries with love.
