About Me
About Frances Patton, LMFT
Hello! My name is Frances Patton. I am a licensed marriage and family therapist in the state of North Carolina.
Many clients wonder what led me to become a therapist and I’m happy to share a bit of my journey with you. As you can imagine, my passion is to help couples develop a sense of closeness and partnership. We do this by helping each person in the partnership learn how to communicate their real needs.
From that place, people grow in emotional healing and freedom. Once they reach this new place, deeper intimacy and closeness is possible at a level you’re likely not experiencing now. Not surprisingly, the work I do for couples translates quite well to individuals too.
We Work On You & Getting Your Life In Order
To speak about myself for a moment, I can honestly say, I’ve been there. I’ve struggled, been to therapy, done my work, and moved my life to a better place. When my marriage had issues, I went to therapy to heal. I approached my career with the same intention. I took the best training available in couples therapy so I could learn how to support clients in the most meaningful ways.
The trainings that have served me the best are Gottman Therapy and Emotionally Focused Therapy. Each is backed by over 30 years of research and thousands of clients served. These are both highly researched and evidence based.
Training In Different Ways
Training in this way qualifies me to help people who know that something in their life needs to change. In our work, I’ll help you get to the real root of your problem and find positive ways of thinking, behaving, and interacting.
It’s important to note that if you have previously been in therapy and it didn’t “work” the methods I use are known for helping clients who “were not helped by other methods of therapy.”
No one is a lost cause. What’s needed is the right approach to help with the right challenge. In the case of communication, intimacy, and positive action, Gottman Therapy and Emotionally Focused Therapy are at the top of a very short list.
Therapeutic Solutions For Couples & Individuals
I approach therapy with healing in mind rather than just finding a surface-level solution. If you’re a couple, I will listen to each of you with respect and do my best to really “get” what each of you is saying. Then we will work on helping the two of you learn how to truly listen to each other so that you both feel heard, understood, and cared for.
Together, we will look at the deeper feelings and issues that lead to your negative reactions to each other, and we’ll work on building positive feelings, thoughts, and behaviors to replace the negative ones.
If you are attending therapy on your own, I’ll listen to you with compassion and honesty. We will look at how you react to the stressors in your life and find out what is giving rise to your negative feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. Then, we will work on ways to replace those negative patterns with more positive ones.
As a person, I am compassionate and understanding so you can feel safe opening up to me. I am also honest and considerate which will help you grow. And, since I’ve been there, I won’t judge you. I know it’s hard to change, even when you want something different in your life/marriage.
You’ll never hear, “Just get over it!”, “Quit complaining” or “You’re doing this wrong” from me. My job is to help lead you to a better place in your life, and I take that job very seriously.