Couples therapy is a form of counseling that helps solve misunderstandings and conflicts between married partners, enabling them to enjoy more satisfying relationships. You’re a candidate for marriage counseling if you and your partner argue frequently, lack affection and respect, struggle with anger, or are unwilling to compromise. Understanding what happens during couples counseling can help you and your partner prepare and avoid unrealistic expectations. Here is more information on what you can expect when you visit a couples counseling specialist:
Initial Evaluation
During couples therapy, the counselor tries to gain more insights into your relationship’s status and history by asking relevant questions. The counselor can ask about the time you started dating and when you started experiencing challenges. When the counselor poses such questions, they expect you and your partner to share your concerns, life transitions, and other relevant information.
The therapist may also ask about your personal background and how you think they’re influencing your relationship. During marriage counseling, the therapist will want to know how you interact with your spouse after having a conflict. Such questions help marriage counselors develop a tailored strategy, such as emotionally focused therapy (EFT), to address your issues effectively.
Explore Issues
A counseling specialist explores the underlying problems to help couples understand the root cause of their relationship instability. Feelings of loneliness or mistrust can reflect a lack of proper communication or intimacy. By exploring the underlying issues in your relationship, the counselor can assess any negative behavior patterns. Your therapist may also try to evaluate repetitive patterns of resentment, disrespect, manipulation, or carelessness.
Once a couples therapist analyzes such patterns, they determine their emotional triggers and develop a better approach to prevent them. By exploring your underlying issues, a counselor addresses your emotional needs, helping you and your partner connect better emotionally. When exploring core marriage issues, the therapist may ask how you and your partner resolve conflicts to identify possible gaps. Couples counselors also focus on external factors that contribute to arguments and conflicts in your marriage, including work-related stress.
Goal Setting
Marriage counseling specialists work with couples to help them develop mutual goals aimed at making their relationship better. During couples therapy, you and your partner get guidance on setting realistic goals. A professional couples therapist helps partners struggling with problems in their relationships set realistic communication goals. Some communication goals that help improve relationships and marriages include active listening, non-verbal communication, and conflict resolution. Other goals that counseling services help couples set include parenting, intimacy or affection, personal growth, and trust-building goals.
Skills Development
During marriage counseling, a therapist can teach you and your partner some of the effective skills to address your challenges. The counselors teach couples how to find common ground and validate their feelings to solve misunderstandings during conflicts. Counselors also teach partners about forgiveness and being non-judgmental as ways of rebuilding damaged relationships. Some other attributes a couples therapist helps individuals develop include patience, appreciation, honesty, and compassion.
Contact a Couples Therapy Professional
If you’re experiencing issues with your marriage or relationship, couples therapy can help you overcome them by improving how you communicate with your partner. When communication improves, you can easily rebuild trust and understanding, resulting in a stronger relationship. Visiting a counselor also helps you become more committed to making your relationship better. Contact a professional couples therapist today to request an appointment.