What Can Couples Therapy Address?
The image that comes to mind when most people hear the term “couples counseling” is of a couple on either side of a sofa, sharing their issues with a marriage counselor who listens patiently and then offers up sage advice for happy ever after. Despite what many may believe, Couples Therapy is actually much more complicated than this and requires participation, willingness, and commitment from both partners to achieve the best results.
Couples therapy can be used to address a wide variety of relationship challenges, such as:
Improved communication skills: Many couples struggle with communicating effectively with one another. Throughout the process of couples counseling, you and your partner will learn to discuss thoughts and feelings healthily from week to week and to identify the right time and place for difficult conversations.
Overcoming Challenges Together: The Power of Couples Therapy
Enhanced understanding of dysfunctional interaction patterns: Your therapist will help you gain insight into the dynamic that contributes to your distress, such as communication styles or power struggles. This knowledge can ultimately change how you interact with each other.
Goal-setting: Couples often use therapy to set specific goals for their relationship, such as learning to communicate better or addressing resentment after an affair. Setting these goals together with your therapist can provide structure and focus as you move forward.
Different methods of couples counseling exist, with some incorporating psychodynamic theory and others using behavioral interventions adapted from cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). The Gottman Method is an example of a couple therapy approach that incorporates both CBT and psychodynamic elements.