What You Need to Know: Couples Therapy and Marriage Counselling
Falling in love and getting married are said to be the “easy” part of the relationship.
Keeping that special bond strong through financial struggles, raising children, and all other responsibilities that come with starting a life together is where things get tough.
It’s no secret that trust, communication, and affection are key to a healthy, loving relationship. Without these fundamental elements, maintaining a successful relationship will begin to take an emotional toll and eventually lead to a painful split up.
Admitting to yourself and your partner that things are not perfect can be difficult, but is a necessary first step in strengthening your relationship and coming out of these challenging times better than before.
What Is Couples Therapy and Marriage Counselling?
Marriage and couples counselling are often used interchangeably, their similarities making it hard to distinguish the two types of therapy.
While marriage counselling tends to deal with present-day events and conflicts, couples therapy focuses more on any history that causes unhealthy patterns and works to find the root of most problems.
Therapy can address a wide range of relationship issues including recurring problems, an affair, disconnection, and difficulties due to external stressors. It’s important to remember that this is a gradual process. It will take time for both of you to fully open up and effort to ensure the sessions are as productive and helpful as possible.
What to Expect From Your Therapy Session
Patience, understanding, and perseverance are crucial elements for making sure couples therapy is effective and useful.
Typically, the first couple of sessions is dedicated to interviewing the partners and deep-diving into their relationship history, family origins, values, and cultural background. Once all the background information has been gathered, the couple’s therapist will begin identifying the issue that the treatment will be focused on and establish goals.
Throughout the treatment, the therapist will help the couple understand their respective roles in their dysfunctional interactions. By gaining greater insight into relationship issues, the partners will begin to change the way they perceive the relationship and each other.
While gaining a new perspective is important, actually changing these behaviours is vital if the couple wants their partnership to continue and thrive.
When Is It Time for Couples Therapy and Marriage Counselling?
Part of the reason so few couples seek counselling is due to the stigma still attached to the idea of attending therapy.
People may view marriage counselling as a sign of weakness rather than a helpful resource to improve their relationship. There are some telltale signs that you and your partner could benefit from counselling which include:
– Emotional distance and loneliness
– Trust and commitment issues
– Abuse, affairs, and addictions
– Non-existent sexual intimacy
– Differences in parenting styles that lead to conflict
– Mismanagement and disagreement on finances
– Attachment insecurities
If your current relationship is shaky, breaking up or getting a divorce isn’t the only option. Couples counselling could be what your relationship needs to heal old and present wounds and start fresh.
How to Start Marriage Counselling or Couples Therapy
Constant relationship distress can harm both partners’ mental and physical health.
Couples counselling is a meaningful way to restore the foundation of the marriage or relationship and clarify what the best solution is. Unfortunately, many couples decide to try therapy after a significant amount of damage has been done.
When two people truly care for each other, a relationship can always persevere and grow through tough times. Our expert counsellors at Capital Choice Counselling Group are here to help put your relationship back on the right track by rebuilding your channels of communication so you can prosper as a couple.
Get in touch with us to learn more about our marriage counselling and couples therapy services and set up an appointment today.