Southport Smartie Helps Couples Stay Connected

Southporter Trevor Crow, best known as a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice and the host of a radio talk show titled "Keeping Connected with Trevor Crow," has seen an uptick in couples' crises on the local level, which she attributes to economic hard times and the resulting pressure families are under right now.

"It's incredibly difficult for families and couples to manage their fear and anxiety and not turn against each other," she said in a recent sit-down with Patch. "The result is a lot of divorce, a lot of affairs and a lot of stress in marriage. My approach is to get couples to recognize the issues and their own deep feelings. Often, men are reluctant to voice their fears, particularly to their partners, and women get even more afraid because they don’t want to hear it. It’s critical for couples to connect and mutually discuss their deeper feelings, and soothe each other."

Crow holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Wellesley College, a Bachelor of Science Degree from Parsons School of Design, an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from . She is also certified in emotionally focused therapy and a supervisor-in-training in same, with a designation to teach other Master’s candidates. In addition, she serves on the advisory board for the Marriage and Family Therapy Master’s program at Fairfield University, sits on the board at Pequot Library and is a single mother of two children, Duncan and Olivia, who 12 and 15, respectively. 

It’s a full plate, to be sure, but her career and family are her passion. "I became interested in my field because of a former husband and my role as stepmom to his three children," she related, "including Michelle Crow, my 22-year-old ex-stepdaughter, who resides with me often and plays a big role in the lives of my biological children.

"I knew there were a lot of issues around step-parenting and started reading about it," she continued. "When I had my own kids, I became even more interested in parenting and relationships.” 

As a result, she went back to school to get credentialed and started her practice in Southport in 2006. The radio show followed in September 2010. "I felt there’s a lot of good news about relationships, strategies to manage them and ways to understand each other better."

Now, through her practice and show, she wants to put out a message that there's hope and the possibility for healing. "Deep down, every one of us is yearning to be known, understood and have a feeling of belonging, to be heard," she said. "That's what successful couples do for each other."

You can catch Trevor Crow’s "Keeping Connected" radio talk show every Tuesday at 10 a.m. live (re-broadcast at 8 p.m.) on WDJZ 1530 AM. For more information, visit www.djzradio.com  To call in, dial 203-367-4395. You can also visit Crow’s own website www.trevorcrow.com, connect to her blog through her website or find her on Twitter at trevorcrowlmft.