Exploring the Benefits of Couples Counseling

Relationships take a lot of work – and sometimes we need an outside perspective to help us discover what’s troubling our relationship and how best to fix it. That’s why so many couples turn to couples counseling to heal their relationship and learn healthy methods to resolve their problems.

What Is Couples Counseling?

Couples counseling is a type of psychotherapy that can help you and your partner deal with common relationship troubles, such as issues with trust, communication, or handling conflict. A trained therapist can help you both process your feelings, express them healthily to each other, and develop effective coping methods and communication strategies to improve your relationship dynamic.

Couples therapy is a great tool for increasing the respect and affection between you and your partner, which are key to a long, happy, and healthy relationship.

Why Do Couples Seek Counseling?

Couples decide to see a therapist together for a wide variety of reasons. Some common reasons to try couples therapy include the following.

Understanding your relationship: Having an objective professional evaluate your relationship dynamics is helpful in understanding why problems develop or why you struggle to resolve them. Your relationship may suffer from a power imbalance, you may fall into negative communication habits, or maybe you tend to fight over the same things repeatedly without ever resolving the issue. Understanding your relationship and its patterns is the first step to healing and strengthening your bond.

Learning coping skills :All relationships have conflict – it’s how you handle the conflict that really matters. When you and your partner encounter problems, it’s important to navigate the issue properly and productively express your feelings. Therapy can help you learn effective techniques to deal with stress, anger, jealousy, sadness, and other emotions you experience when navigating the challenges that arise in your relationship.

Getting unbiased advice: A good therapist is an objective ally to both you and your partner, there to provide impartial guidance that will benefit you both. Hearing feedback from a neutral third party often allows us to look at ourselves and our relationship with a new perspective, resulting in constructive changes to the way we communicate and interact.

Seeing each other’s perspectives: It can be difficult for many of us to understand another person’s point of view and not prioritize only our own perspectives and feelings.A therapist can help you objectively see your partner’s side in a disagreement, avoid miscommunication, and understand each other so that you can better resolve conflict.

Resolving roadblocks: Sometimes major life changes or outside stressors cause problems at home in your relationship with your partner. Trouble at work, illness, or a disagreement over a decision, such as moving or having children, can cause a rift to arise between the two of you. Recurring arguments over seemingly mundane or insignificant things, such as housework, can also leave you at a standstill or cause resentment to mount. Couples therapy can help you get to the root of the problem and address iteffectively.

Improving your communication: Lack of proper communication is one of the most common issues faced by couples in therapy. Your therapist can help you improve your communication skills so that your interactions with your partner are healthier, more productive, and more successful.

Building trust: Trust is the foundation of any healthy relationship. If you and your partner are struggling to trust each other, regardless of the reason, it will only create further issues and break down your connection. Couples therapy can help heal trust issues by giving both partners space to discuss why the trust was broken, work on forgivingness, and learn how to set and stick to boundaries to repair that trust.

Signs You May Benefit From Couples Counseling

You’re arguing often or intensely.

Arguments that are increasing in frequency or intensity can have a significantly negative effect on your relationship. You can disagree with each other in healthier ways by learning to improve your communication, set boundaries, and understand each other’s perspective.

You’re not communicating well.

If you’re fighting often, withdrawing, or using inflammatory or manipulative language with your partner, couples therapy can help you communicate more constructively.

There are trust issues.

If you or your partner recently lost trust in the other, you may be fighting frequently, harboring resentment, or feeling jealous or suspicious, which can significantly affect the quality of your life and relationship.

A major life change is straining your relationship.

If you’ve recently experienced a major life transition, such as a move, parenthood, or job loss, your relationship may be struggling under the new stress and pressure.

You’re struggling financially.

If you and your partner are suffering from money troubles, the stress and disagreement over how to handle the finances can have a negative effect on your communication and bond.

You’re growing apart.

Sometimes, the need for counseling isn’t because of an obvious or sudden shift in your dynamic. Some couples decide to seek counseling after realizing they have been slowly growing apart – whether that means spending less time together, wanting different things, or sharing and communicating less.

An issue from the past is unresolved.

Sometimes a past transgression can continue to wreak havoc on your relationship, even if you think you’ve gotten past it. If you or your partner are having trouble getting over something that came between you previously, therapy can help.

You want a healthier relationship.

Not everyone in couples therapy is looking for help with a specific problem. You may benefit from couples therapy simply if you are looking to strengthen your connection with your partner and continue enjoying a long and happy life together.

Couples Therapy at LiveWell Counseling

If you think couples therapy may be right for you and your partner, LiveWell Counseling can provide the supportive guidance that you need to improve your relationship. Our knowledgeable and understanding therapists offer couples therapy in a comforting, nonjudgmental setting so that you and your partner can safely share your feelings and learn effective communication skills to strengthen the foundation of your relationship and grow your bond.

For more information about LiveWell Counseling, please call (201) 848-5800 or visit ChristianHealthNJ.info/LiveWell.