Posted on July 5th, 2023 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

When service members return from duty, they often carry a lot more than what they began with. For many, the heavy burden of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has a profound effect not only on the […]

Posted on June 7th, 2021 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Divorce stinks. Even when it’s the best option, it’s still a bad option. And this is doubly so when there are kids involved. (Actually, that’s probably an understatement. A divorce with no children is painful; […]

Posted on May 4th, 2020 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

If you are an avid reader of this blog, you already know that the three most important words in a marriage are not “I was wrong” – they’re actually “help me understand.” (Check out the […]

Posted on January 15th, 2020 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Family conflict is a part of life. There is no family without some level of discord and disagreement. And most families survive intact despite it. However, in some families the level of conflict is elevated […]

Posted on September 4th, 2019 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Have you seen this alarming article yet? ‘Picky’ teen goes blind after diet of only fries and chips, study says. Apparently a British teenager refused to eat anything but “french fries, Pringles, white bread, processed […]

Posted on August 14th, 2019 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

There are many reasons adults may decide to stop talking to their siblings. Old wounds from their childhood interactions are a major culprit, as are ongoing personality differences that cause friction. Often a major life event will lead to a break, such as a Thanksgiving dinner gone awry, or, regrettably, the death of a parent and the inheritance squabbles that can ensue.

Posted on July 22nd, 2019 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

In our last post I offered some ideas on how parents can go about reconnecting with adult children who have become distant and disconnected. In this post I’d like to talk a bit more about […]

Posted on June 20th, 2019 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

You spent decades of your life raising your children. You poured your love, time, effort, and money into giving them the best life you could. Sure, you made mistakes along the way, but you tried […]

Posted on May 13th, 2019 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

There’s been conflict in your family for some time now, and you’re ready to finally get some professional help with it. Strong personalities within a family can make it very hard to change the system […]

Posted on October 8th, 2018 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Recently I had the great pleasure of going to an escape room for a bit of family fun. If you’re not familiar,

Posted on July 19th, 2018 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Most people have never been to therapy before and are understandably a bit nervous about what the first therapy session going to be like.  If you’ve gotten up the courage to make that first appointment, […]

Posted on May 8th, 2018 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Recently I was interviewed on the radio to discuss the question of how to prioritize your relationship with your spouse vs. your kids. You can listen to the 20-minute segment here. Here’s the spoiler: I […]

Posted on September 18th, 2017 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Anger is one of the major destroyers of relationships. People can say and do things when they are angry that are offensive, hurtful, even downright mean. But anger is a normal part of the human […]

Posted on May 25th, 2017 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Another common battleground for parents with young children is mealtime.  Getting kids to eat their proverbial veggies has been a vexing problem since time immemorial.  Just as we noted with bedtime, it’s unlikely you will […]

Posted on January 9th, 2017 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

The Five Love Languages® is a great tool for improving relationships, whether you’re at the beginning of a new relationship or you’ve been married for decades.  It is a very simple and understandable method of […]

Posted on December 7th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Following up on our last post, let’s talk a bit about what possible red flags to look out for when searching for a therapist in Baltimore or anywhere else.  Unfortunately, as we mentioned last time, […]

Posted on November 15th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

So you’re looking for a therapist in Baltimore.  Maybe you typed “Baltimore therapist” into Google and it sent you here.  But how do you find the right “Baltimore therapist” for you?  What goes in to […]

Posted on September 26th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

In the previous post we cited a number of examples of role changes that can lead to conflict in the home and the importance of family therapy for managing these transitions.  There we focused primarily […]

Posted on September 8th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Why do relationships between mothers and daughters that are warm, loving, and peaceable turn into battlegrounds of conflict and frustration?  What happens that causes such a drastic change, often in so short a time? The […]

Posted on August 24th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

We frequently get calls for family therapy, specifically regarding troubled mother/daughter relationships.  These include young parents with school- or preschool-aged children, middle-aged women with their teenage/young adult daughters, and even up to elderly women who […]

Posted on July 19th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Call today : 443-598-2821 (you can text us too!) Getting started on the process of therapy isn’t easy.  Especially if you’ve never done it before, you might be a little bit confused or nervous about […]

Posted on July 6th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

An amazing thing happened in my house last night. I was out for the evening, and I came home to find a tired but relatively cheerful wife and three sleeping children. This is what I […]

Posted on May 12th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Parents-in-law have been known to cause grief in many a marriage, but they can also be of tremendous help to it.  In this article I touch on just a few important notes for how parents […]

Posted on April 18th, 2016 By Caitlin Chana Hill

Why a post on therapy for women?  Is therapy somehow different for women than for men?  Do they face different issues? The answer is yes and no. Certainly the problems we help clients with are […]

Posted on March 31st, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

It is not uncommon for us to field calls from people looking to get help for someone other than themselves. One common category of such callers is the family member of someone with borderline personality […]

Posted on March 14th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Every now and then I hear about a “great new therapy” that promises fast results and lasting change (often after a single session or treatment). I am highly skeptical of such approaches and I encourage […]

Posted on January 27th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

The last piece I’m going to post on the topic of why a good marriage is the best gift we can give to ours kids is probably the simplest: 4. It’s just nicer to live […]

Posted on January 11th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Continuing on in our exploration of why a good marriage is so vital to your childrearing endeavors, here is reason #3: 3. They’ll do as you do. Jimmy’s parents were called into school, where Jimmy […]

Posted on December 28th, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

In the last post, I opened up the topic of why a good marriage is good parenting and discussed the issue of household stability. Here is reason #2 that the best gift you can give […]

Posted on September 1st, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Hooray! We’re listed as the #1 marriage and family counselor in Baltimore on Thumbtack.com! https://www.thumbtack.com/md/baltimore/marriage-and-family-counselors/ Contact us today for help with all kinds of relationship issues, including: dating marriage infidelity/cheating breakups trust communication conflict resolution […]

Posted on August 23rd, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

At the Baltimore Therapy Center we frequently get calls that begin like this: “Hi, I’m looking for marriage counseling. Do you take Blue Cross Blue Shield?” While the short answer is yes, there’s unfortunately a […]

Posted on August 6th, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Check out our latest article on the Maryland Addiction Recovery Center‘s guest blog! http://www.marylandaddictionrecovery.com/boundaries-inside-and-out

Posted on July 31st, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Many clients call up for the first time wanting to know what couples counseling will be like. No doubt there is a nervousness there about starting a process that you don’t know much about. In […]

Posted on July 24th, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

This is a great relationship buzzword that gets thrown around a lot.  What does it do for us?  Check out this short video to see why we think helping couples develop their communication skills is […]

Posted on July 1st, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Everyone has things they want and need out of the relationships they are in. Most people recognize that aggressive behavior is not a good way to get those things while maintaining the relationship at the […]

Posted on April 22nd, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Check out our new video about one of our unique specialties – helping adults manage their relationships with their own parents!  We hear a lot of complaints about this kind of issue out in the […]

Posted on February 8th, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Another guest post I wrote on a friend’s blog has generated some interesting conversation.  See the article and subsequent comments at https://incensefromthealtar.wordpress.com/2015/02/05/the-importance-of-listening. Learn more about our couples counseling services here.

Posted on February 2nd, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

A guest post of mine on a friend’s weight loss blog: http://weightlosscounterrevolution.com/2015/01/30/the-impact-of-family-on-weight-loss/ Learn more about our family therapy services here.

Posted on November 19th, 2014 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

An article I wrote about spousal disagreements has been posted on wellness.com: Arguments among dating and married couples have gotten a bad name. Sure, they cause anger, frustration, tears, breakups, and divorces, but apart from […]

Posted on October 19th, 2014 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Here is a recent column of mine that appeared in a local newspaper discussing a common issue that comes up in families. While this person may or may not be a candidate for family therapy, […]

Posted on August 14th, 2014 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Here’s a little levity in the family therapy field (check out Amy’s response).  At the same time, it’s kind of sad.  Family problems always are. If you find yourself in a similar type of situation […]