Bids For Connection by Ilene Wolf MFT: Couples and Relationship Counseling, Making Relationships Work

HOW DO YOU MAKE RELATIONSHIPS WORK- NO MATTER HOW DIFFICULT? 

Consult a licensed MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST and RELATIONSHIP EXPERT!
EVERY INTERACTION IS either based on fear or a BID FOR CONNECTION! AT BIDS FOR CONNECTION, you will discover your ability to handle difficult conversations by utilizing proven tools.
 

When was the last time you CAN remember being happy? Changing how you think is essential to changing self-defeating behavior. Ilene Wolf CAN SHOW YOU HOW.
 

Consult with Ilene Wolf MFT at Bids for Connection Therapy, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, WORKING in San Francisco and Marin FOR OVER THIRTY YEARS, SPECIALIZING IN couples counseling and individual counseling.
 

ILENE has helped 100s OF INDIVIDUALS AND COUPLES resolve DATING AND relationship problems to give you (the Stanford research evidenced- based tools to overcome CONFLICT IN marriage. AN EXPERT in Conflict Resolution, Ilene LEADS Empathy CIRCLES AND forgiveness workshops THROUGH THE USE OF COGNITIVE THERAPY (CBT) AND drama therapy .
 

Have you locked yourself into an unloving relationship?
 

Addressing all relationships: partners, family and work. Safe. Confidential.

WHAT ARE "BIDS FOR CONNECTION"

A BID FOR CONNECTION is an attempt to create a CONNECTION between two people to keep the relationship going forward.

It is FINDING A DEEPER MOTIVATION TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE in spite of hurt and anger:

It is CONNECTING IN A DEEPER WAY WITH OUR SPOUSE OR PARTNER, OUR CHILDREN, OUR COWORKERS, OUR PARENTS.
 

Remedy: Learn your unique attachment style (PREOCCUPIED, AVOIDANT, SECURE); how does the lack of trust and past hurt determine your interactive style.
 

Reclaiming: Give yourself a tremendous amount of SELF-empathy and compassion within the context of a caring therapist. Reclaiming the hurt, lost and disowned parts of the self.
 

Reconnecting AND RECOGNIZING YOUR FEELINGS to FIND UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE FOR YOURSELF so that you can learn to move beyond hurt.
 

Recovery: Going back for the lost parts of ourselves, integrating the hurt, metabolizing the grief.
 

Replenishment: Finding the dreams behind the conflict. To understand and experience what compassion for the self and others feels like.

Resources: Discover the resources and gifts in our hidden emotions. What would it mean to get past the anger, anxiety and depression and be the beneficiary of your own energy?
 

Building: Experience love as a feeling -- otherwise AS a commodity we CAN never  have enough of IT.


TOOLS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

WE LEARN HOW TO trust, stemming from our early childhood experiences, blueprints and impressions that carry over in our day to day experiences.
 

Discover THE TOOLS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SO YOU CAN trust yourself and your partner MORE:

1. The Universal laws of love based on nonviolent communication
2. The essential ingredient of love is the power behind vulnerability
3. Finding the confidence to stand up to everyday conflict in relationships at the work place and home
4. The Art of showing and receiving empathy
5. Why requests and needs are repeatedly not met, and what you can do about it
6. Requests as camouflaged demands, Recognizing Hidden Emotions

Learn AND RELY ON EVIDENCE -BASED STANFORD research-proven tools that help create positive changes in your relationships

We all have felt and feared our vulnerability, yet this essential ingredient is what truly connects us. This therapy will show you how to have a RELATIONSHIP THAT WORKS.

CONFLICT
 

By Having The Courage --Things CAN AND Do Get Better!
 

PEOPLE ASK: Why can’t I seem to feel better? The answer goes back to our beliefs about people, places and things.
 

Therapy works when it involves a trusting relationship with a therapist who gives you the exact tools to get out of the predicament you are in. While empathy is one key element of therapy, it is not enough alone to single-handedly change your behavior.
 

If your childhood was filled with uncertainty, disregard, neglect or violence, chances are some of your problems in relationships may stem from wanting to keep people at a distance to determine whether or not people or situations are safe.
 

Finding the Capacity to Be Happy and Experience Contentment
 

The source of anxiety and depression is often unexpressed feelings. The impossible demand that we be "nice" at the expense of ourselves -- leaving us at the risk of anyone truly knowing who we are.

FORGIVENESS
 

Have you locked yourself into an unloving relationship?
Master the ability to forgive yourself and others.
 

A safe confidential space where you can work through your feelings of loss, hurt and grief, whether THE LOSS IS recent, or long ago.
 

The purpose of the Practicing The Art of Forgiveness Group is to provide a safe and compassionate space to share, connect, and learn from others who have had a similar experience. With tools and insight provided by a supportive therapist, group members will have the chance to share experiences, explore feelings and move beyond hurt, and repair relationships through the use of metta (loving kindness) meditation and modern therapeutic tools -- including The Five Secrets. We do deep experiential work in these sessions, so this group is not for everyone.
 

Practicing The Art of Forgiveness Group meets the first Thursday of the month in San Rafael, CA. Individual session required to ensure that this group meets your individual goals.

ABOUT ILENE
 

Ilene Wolff, LMFT, RDT, a licensed marriage and family therapist, graduated from UC Berkeley and trained at Stanford University (Advanced Applications of Cognitive Therapy with David Burns, MD.) Ilene is a member of The Feeling Good Institute. Ilene teaches at JFK University and Sonoma State University. She  is the director of the Drama Therapy Institute www.dramatherapyinstitute.com.
 

Ilene is the winner of the California Marriage and Family Therapists’ 2012 Education Foundation Award. Ilene HAS trained and taught at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto (Brief Solution-Focused Therapy. Ilene is a past vice president of the San Francisco Chapter of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT). Ilene was the Teaching Assistant for The Milton Erickson Institute of the Bay Area (2010-2012) as well as David Burn’s Summer Intensive (2011) on Cognitive Therapy (CBT) and the TEAM model. Ilene has presented at the National Drama Therapy Conference and has been a guest lecturer at UC Berkeley.
 

For couples counseling and relationship conflict problems call Ilene Wolf at 415.263.6744. Visit www.bidsforconnection.com/