Why Do Couples Seek Counseling?
Often, a couple will seek out couples counseling when one or both partners feels there has been a breakdown of communication, a misalignment of values, or a fundamental loss of sexual attraction.
We also encounter couples who have a very strong relationship that are experiencing a shared hardship or tragedy and who would like the opportunity to share their emotions with a outside individual who is not involved in what they are living through at the moment.
Couples enter counseling for many reasons, and each couple's reasoning is as unique to them as their own relationship is. Some of the more common issues I experience are:
- years of the same "unresolved" conflict that keeps repeating
- breakdown of communications
- conflict resolution
- intimacy and libido issues/sexual challenges
- anger management
- stage-of-life issues
- religion, ethics, and/or family values
- financial burdens
- jealousy or infidelity
- addiction and dependency
- family, parent and in-law stress
- parenting children with challenges
- step-family/family-blending issues
- infertility and adoption adjustment
- loss of a child or parent
It is important to realize that no two people are 100% compatible, and all relationships have pros and cons. Difficulty with relationships, and difficulty acknowledging emotions, undermines more families, couples and individuals than anything else.
A couples counseling engagement usually begins by outlining an optimal goal for the relationship that includes the opinions and values of both partners. The Therapy Center becomes a safe place where couples can freely open up to one another without fear of judgment or retribution. This is the safe zone, a place for exploration and contemplation, a place where it's ok to say you do or don't like something your partner is interested in. By exploring the inner workings of both you and your partner's emotions, we can begin to construct a realistic value system for you to work within.
We will explore ways to communicate without hurting your partner's feelings, or diminishing their self-esteem, thereby creating a stronger, more solid foundation for the relationship to thrive and flourish on.
Couples counseling can stop a situation from going from bad to worse, not by offering you the answer to your problem, but by giving you the tools and ability you need to work through them on your own.