Important Things To Know About
Relationship Counseling
Relationships can bring intense feelings of love and happiness. However, the course of any relationship isn’t always smooth sailing. Sometimes, problems that can’t be easily managed or resolved on your own can occur.
Nowadays, many individuals deal with relationship problems by avoiding them or pretending they don't exist, but that doesn’t solve the problem. If you have reached a point where you feel there's no way out of the relationship issues but want to make it work, couple counseling may be an option you need.
Couples only consider counseling therapy as a last resort, when the situation has spiraled out of control. However, it’s important to know that counseling therapy can be helpful even when you have minor relationship problems, in that way, they don’t become major issues. You may search for counseling near me online or through your local listings.
This comprehensive guide will discuss several important things about relationship counseling before your problems as a couple escalate beyond control.
What Is Relationship Counseling?
Relationship counseling is a clinical therapy designed to help couples address relationship issues and develop healthier communication skills.
A counselor will meet with both parties, separately at first, to get an accurate understanding of each background, present situation, emotional state, history as a couple, and future expectations. Afterward, the partners are brought into the same session for joint counseling
The goal is to provide you with strategies that'll allow you to achieve better communication. It’ll also address the problems head-on through joint sessions focused on conveying your feelings about each other. During this process, a professional counselor helps couples learn new abilities and techniques to stabilize and sustain their relationship.
Couples often benefit from improved communication skills and a deeper understanding of their partner's needs, wants, and feelings. This counseling could help them make better decisions on problems they're facing as a couple.
When Are Couples Counseling Sessions Necessary?
If your relationship is struggling under the weight of unresolved conflicts or tensions, you may want to consider counseling sessions to help resolve these issues.
Here are some common reasons that couples seek out professional relationship counseling services:
- Infidelity
Couples who've been together for a while begin to develop certain expectations about their relationship. Sometimes these expectations aren't in congruence with the reality of the current situation. Because of this, one might look for someone else that fits their expectations
When you or your partner fail to meet those expectations and fail to communicate this effectively, it can lead to problems in the relationship, such as cheating, which eventually, breaks the relationship.
- Communication Problems
Arguments and disagreements are inevitable in every relationship. However, when one or both partners fail to address their concerns, it can result in bottled-up issues that could burst at any time.
This problem increases stress levels and decreases feelings of trust between you and your partner. If this continues for an extended time without resolution, your relationship may be heading towards its endpoint.
- Trust Issues
As the relationship develops, trust and loyalty become vital factors in making your bond stronger. If one or both partners don't value these aspects of the relationship, it may not be easy to achieve intimacy between both of you. Both parties may experience feelings of jealousy, fear, and doubt that lead to resentment and distrust.
Stress Ongoing stress, whether outside or within a relationship, can cause serious problems that can adversely affect your emotional well-being and strain your relationship. Over time, this may negatively impact your productivity at work and cause undue stress for you and your partner. Everyone needs space from their significant others sometimes; however, if you don't get space to unwind, it can be detrimental to your overall health.
- Blended Families
Blending two families is no easy feat. Often, serious problems can arise when couples integrate stepchildren from previous relationships. The pressure of raising other people's children while trying to maintain a healthy relationship can be overwhelming.
- Financial Difficulties
Poor financial management can cause conflicts in your relationship. If your partner is living beyond their means or doesn't understand the value of your budget, it may lead to unnecessary arguments that can cause a rift between you and your partner
- Feelings Slowly Fading
Falling out of love with your partner and losing the spark that brought you together in the first place can be one of the most challenging problems to overcome in any relationship. There are several reasons why this happens and if no one puts in an effort to keep the relationship going, it may lead to a breakup or divorce.
Frequently, couples need some outside guidance from a third party like family or friends to help them work through the emotional baggage they've been dragging around for years. However, if you want an unbiased or objective point of view, a professional psychologist or counselor might be better.
The Different Types Of Relationship Counseling Therapy
Counseling therapy is a one-on-one process that gives you and your partner the opportunity to speak candidly about how you're feeling. It's an excellent way to address communication and trust issues and several other problems that could have led to unhealthy living conditions in your relationship.
Below are some of the different types of relationship counseling therapy you can engage in with your partner.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
This form of therapy is similar to behavioral therapy in a way that it focuses on changing your behavior for the better. In addition, cognitive-behavioral therapy helps people identify and alter their feelings and thoughts on certain behaviors they want to stop engaging in
For example, if your partner tends to be verbally abusive toward you when upset, a therapist would work closely to change the negative thought patterns and learn healthier alternatives to communicating their frustration towards you.
- The Gottman Method
Gottman Method is a type of therapy that uses specific questioning techniques to help you and your partner open up about how you're feeling. Although the questions may seem simple, they allow you to discuss more issues than in your typical conversations or arguments.
In addition, counselors may use this type of therapy with couples who have been married for several years and feel their relationship has lost its passion and love for each other.
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
This type of therapy is designed to help couples improve their relationship by reestablishing feelings of intimacy. It focuses on healing the core of your relationship. If you and your partner are struggling in building a successful relationship together because of unresolved issues, EFT can be an effective option for you.
This form of therapy involves focusing on specific emotions such as joy, sadness, fear, and love. The goals of this type of counseling include helping you realize what caused these negative emotions to surface in the first place and how to work through them in a healthy way.
- Imago Relationship Therapy
Imago relationship therapy is a type of relationship counseling that focuses on helping you and your partner work together in improving the quality and well-being of your bond. It uses your issues and conflict as an opportunity to empathize with each other’s feelings. For couples who want to strengthen their relationship and rekindle the love they once shared, this can be an excellent option for improving their relationship.
- Narrative Therapy
For couples having trouble communicating in a healthy way, this type of therapy can be the answer they're looking for to overcome deep-rooted issues. Narrative therapy is designed to help you and your partner learn how to communicate more openly, honestly, and effectively by telling stories about your lives together.
When done correctly, individuals tend to feel closer than ever before after engaging in narrative therapy sessions because they can talk about important things to them without holding anything back or feeling embarrassed.
- Discernment Counseling
If you and your partner don’t know how to continue your relationship, discernment counseling could be the solution to help you decide on what to do next for your relationship. The goal of this counseling is to have a clear direction and future for you and your partner
In addition, this type of therapy allows you and other family members who are close to your partner to talk openly about any issues causing them stress or struggles.
- Relational Life Therapy
This type of therapy uses a combination of different theories to help couples strengthen their bonds and heal from past wounds. Relational life therapists will consider your childhood relationships, your family's current dynamics, and how you make decisions as a couple to determine where problems may arise in your relationship.
Once this information is gathered, you can begin the process of healing together through improved communication skills and through finding ways in creating a greater intimacy with one another.
- Solution-Focused Therapy
Solution-focused therapy can be an excellent way to help couples search for specific areas of their relationship that need work. This type of counseling also focuses on bringing up positive attributes of both of you rather than attributing blame for bad things between you.
This approach is typically goal-oriented and encourages you to think about improving your relationship.
Conclusion
Relationship counseling can improve all areas of a relationship by helping couples learn how to strengthen their bond and overcome any issues holding them back from having a fulfilling love life together.
If you don’t feel close with your partner anymore, or you've noticed that your love for each other is slowly fading because of specific issues, you should consider bringing in a professional to help strengthen your relationship. By choosing the right type of therapy for you and your partner, you will be able to feel closer than ever before as a couple by learning how to love each other more effectively.
