Couples Therapy Inc

"My partner and I came to CTI as a last ditch effort and saw from testimonials on the CTI site that they save ‘marriages with infidelity’ and where couples were ‘no longer living together’ so we knew they could definitely help us. We did a Q+A with the admin and each chatted with our therapist, Jennifer Sue Taylor, before committing. We felt we were in good hands and that we’d find the help we needed to navigate and address things that felt too triggering to handle alone. My first red flag was the ‘Big Big Book.’ The in depth analysis they ask you to complete before your weekend. I felt like I was taking a standardized test where I wasn’t really represented but had to ‘choose the most applicable option.’ My partner and I have read all the self help books and have tried a lot so we knew what they were trying to assess but didn’t know how to communicate on a sterile questionnaire that ‘Yes, I’ve have been anxious avoidant and know why and am already working on it but here’s where I really need help.’ I reached out to the admin with my concerns and she assured me that the weekend would be more personal. My second red flag was our first session where the therapist casually started by saying, “How are you?” to no one in particular, like the cashier at the grocery store. Was it a general greeting, did she honestly want to know where we were at emotionally, which one of us was she asking? No idea. This then led to 3 hours of random talking and the whole time I was worried because the 1st night is supposed to be about your relationship foundation/how you met and an overview of the weekend. We did not get that, it felt like a waste of time and I didn’t trust that I was being effectively supported or that our time was being used wisely. In my Saturday morning 1:1 I shared that I need to know her intentions when she asks things because it felt like she was just throwing random ideas at us. She agreed to my boundary but did not uphold it and needed to be reminded the rest of the day. Third red flag but I hoped that everything was about to come together. In our Saturday group session she asked us to talk through a standard fight so she could see the dynamics so we picked a recent issue and outlined how it went...until it re-triggered us both and led to a lot of unhealthy behavior. She watched this deeply traumatic behavior for a long time and never interrupted or directed us. She facilitated and allowed emotional harm AND didn’t provide any insight. Later, she admitted that she should have said something or helped - this was after we started holding her more accountable. Fourth red flag. > My partner and I realized that they do the BIG BIG BOOK analysis and then just walk through a step-by-step process instead of tailoring solutions to the individuals in front of them. That’s why Jennifer just kept offering surface-level ideas and couldn’t flush out where we needed to go with them. "