Honest communication — it's one of the most important elements for long-term, successful, rewarding relationships and marriages.
In her more than two decades as a marriage and family therapist at CCA North Texas in McKinney, Dr. Suzanne Hales has encouraged couples to talk openly to each other. She’s also taught couples how to effectively communicate and practice active listening, so that each partner better understands what their loved one is saying.
This summer, Dr. Hales was asked to review a new product by McKinney entrepreneur Jason Adams, who will be featured on ABC’s Shark Tank on Friday, Oct. 25. Dr. Hales enjoyed the product, called Elephant Chat, because it encourages and helps remind couples to speak openly.
“Elephant Chat serves as a wonderful visual reminder that couples need to actively work on communicating with each other. That’s why I really like the idea,” says Dr. Hales, a licensed professional counselor, a licensed marriage and family therapist, an Imago therapist and a Jungian analyst-in-training.
Dr. Hales was interviewed by the Shark Tank camera crew about the product and is looking forward to watching the TV show Friday.
The product’s founder notes on his website that Elephant Chat “cannot replace great advice from professional counselors” and says that “Elephant Chat tools are a great way to remember and utilize the things you have learned” from licensed professional counselors.
CCA North Texas, founded by Dr. Hales in 1986, prides itself on offering the widest variety of counseling services and the most diverse group of specialists in Collin County — all conveniently housed under one roof. CCA North Texas provides confidential, comprehensive mental health services to North Texans of all ages, and its staff includes a vast array of licensed counselors, social workers, play therapists, art therapists, psychologists and a psychiatrist offering care for individuals, couples, children and families.
“Counseling enables people to learn the skills necessary to lead healthier and more productive lives, to solve problems that may have existed for generations, and to heal from emotional wounds both old and new,” Dr. Hales says. “We at CCA North Texas are wholeheartedly committed to this process by which individual’s lives are changed, couples’ relationships are fortified, families are strengthened, and communities enhanced.”
The services that CCA North Texas offers for couples includes premarital counseling, marital counseling, couples’ counseling, couples’ workshops, and couples’ retreats.
Dr. Hales and noted psychotherapist and author Dr. James Kitchen will conduct a couples’ retreat on Feb. 14-16, 2014, at the Crescent Moon Lodge and Retreat Center near the Texas-Oklahoma border. For details or to register for this event, please call CCA North Texas at 972-542-8144.
Couples who would like to strengthen their relationship or their communication skills are invited to contact CCA North Texas to schedule an appointment with Dr. Hales or another therapist on her staff. To schedule an appointment, please call 972-542-8144. CCA North Texas proudly partners with the employee assistance programs (EAPs) of many agencies and businesses throughout North Texas.
Additional upcoming workshops at the Crescent Moon Lodge and Retreat Center will provide encouragement, support, information and assistance to help clients achieve the life changes they seek. If you have an idea for a retreat or workshop to be conducted there, please send an email to innkeeper@crescentmoonlodge.com or click here to access the online form.
About CCA North Texas:
CCA has provided counseling services to residents from McKinney and the surrounding area for more than 25 years. Founded by Dr. Suzanne Hales, CCA offers a staff that includes licensed professional counselors, social workers, therapists and a psychiatrist who provide counseling, psychotherapy and psychiatric care for adults, children, couples and families. CCA is located at 2750 W. Virginia Parkway, Suite 104 in McKinney. To make an appointment, please call 972-542-8144. For more information, please go to www.ccanorthtexas.com. CCA’s therapy provides encouragement, support, information and assistance to help you in the changes and transformations you seek in your life. We are honored to be a part of your process of change, and we applaud your courage in seeking assistance to make changes in your life.