Couples counseling or therapy is a type of therapy that helps two people in a relationship to work through their challenges. There are several ways that couples therapy can aid a relationship, including helping couples to:
- Resolve conflict
- Gain a deeper insight into their relationship
- Improve relationship satisfaction
- Improve communication
- Work through specific life events and make difficult decisions together
- Mend trust or relationship injuries
- Improve sexual relations
When you attend marriage counseling, you might be asked to answer a number of questions about your relationship, as well as your family, values, and cultural background. A trained therapist will help you to identify the concerns in your relationship that you both want to focus on. They will work with you to openly discuss your concerns, set goals, and implement a treatment plan.
When should you go to couples therapy?
Ideally, you want to access couples counseling as early as possible when you realize there are challenges in your relationship. The earlier, the better to try and avoid ongoing conflict or disconnect and find the right therapist and process for you both. However, couples that have experienced challenges for years, as well as those that seek counseling due to a specific sudden event, often experience relief. There is a misconception that marriage counseling is only for serious situations such as addiction, abuse, or infidelity or that seeking couples therapy indicates there is something wrong with the relationship, but in reality, it can help with many issues that couples face and is an indication that the couple values the relationship and finding resolution. A few common concerns that couples therapy can help with are:
- Broken Trust– can occur due to various problems such as infidelity, one person seeking an emotional relationship elsewhere, financial deception, or hiding addiction. A trained therapist can support you to discuss these challenges in a safe environment and help you to rebuild the trust in your relationship.
- Frequent arguments– can be exhausting and upsetting. They may seem simple, or you may not see a reason for them, but they could indicate a more significant underlying concern.
- Poor communication – can often mean that you don’t feel connected to your partner or did not learn healthy communication skills. You may feel overlooked, ignored, or downtrodden. Perhaps miscommunication is leading to arguments or is impacting your physical relationship? Couples counseling will give you the tools to improve communication in your relationship and understand each other much better.
- Devastating life events– can be heart-breaking. The loss of a child or family member, the loss of a job or home, or a critical illness impacts not only you, but also the relationship you are in. When you are in a crisis, you may not think about marriage counseling, but it can help you both to work through these difficult times and support one another.
- Feeling stuck – is a common reason why people seek couples’ therapy. Perhaps your life together has become mundane, routine, and unsatisfying? Maybe you have evolved as individuals, but the relationship has yet to evolve. The longer you let this continue, the more difficult it is to change the pattern and overcome these feelings. Seek help early to ensure you avoid these feelings having a negative impact on your relationship.
- Intimacy issues– can be emotional or physical. Sexual activity may be less, or you may not feel connected emotionally to your partner. You might feel rejected, frustrated, or unsatisfied. Whether it be a physical or emotional intimacy problem, a licensed counselor in couples counseling can help you work on it to improve your sexual relationship.
Here at Bayless, our expert licensed therapists offer marriage counseling to support you through the difficult times in your relationship. The therapists are not there to take sides or identify that someone is wrong, but rather to hear both perspectives and help the couple work towards a common goal. To make a couples’ therapy appointment, you can call 602-777-6337 for a free 15-minute wellness consultation. Alternatively, you can click here to see all our locations and their individual contact numbers. We look forward to hearing from you and welcoming you to our Bayless family.
