Steven Fringer

2825 N. Mayfair Road, Suite 101

Milwaukee, WI 53222

Phone Number: (414) 453-6960

Email:

Marriage can be satisfying and challenging, frustrating and fun. And when couples hit rough patches in their marriage they often slip into unhealthy patterns that can perpetuate the frustration or hurt they're feeling, leaving them alienated from one another. What's happened? They have lost the fundamental attachment, the emotional connection that helps them to feel valued and loved and secure in the marriage. Over time these patterns can become habitual and destructive, creating distance and mistrust. My work with couples is informed by Sue Johnson's Emotionally Focused Therapy and in my work I help couples to see the painful and conflictual pattern, the dance, they're engaged in and also to understand the oftentimes unconscious needs or the fears that are driving the dance. Knowledge is power and knowledge here can provide the impetus to change. We work to re-establish a more secure and solid connection in the marriage. Once this emotional bond is re-established and safety and trust return, other areas of conflict like finances, kids, careers, sex,in-laws can be discussed without the white hot radioactivity previously felt. Within the security of the attachment we can see ourselves, our spouse, and the world with new eyes and begin to risk new things. We see the inevitable differences and conflicts that occur in marriage as the seedbeds for deepened understanding and intimacy to grow because the attachment to one another is solid.

Gender: Male

Graduate Degree: M.Div

University: McCormick Theological Seminary

License: Marriage and Family Therapist

Certifications/Awards/Memberships/Publications:

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Clinical Member

American Association of Pastoral Counselors, Fellow