Benefits of couples counseling and how it works

Couples counseling, also known as marriage counseling, is a type of counseling for intimate partners. It addresses conflicts between the partners, is often short-term, and focuses on specific problems. Other goals of couples counseling are improving communication and interactions and strengthening relationships.

Couples counseling is sometimes referred to as couples therapy or marriage therapy, but the terms "therapy" and "counseling" are different. Couples therapy addresses a condition such as anxiety or depression of one or both partners and how that condition impacts the relationship.

While couples counseling is not a guarantee that the relationship will last, many couples find benefits that help them resolve issues and strengthen relationships. Intimate partners can establish or grow better communication, honesty, and trust, which are the foundations of healthy relationships.
Additionally, couples counseling can help to improve feelings of security in the relationship, increase positive feelings the partners have toward each other, enable couples to cooperate, decrease stress, and provide the couple with tools to overcome future challenges together.

Couples counseling may address one or more of the following:
v    Affairs and infidelity
v    Anger
v    Communication problems
v    Blended families
v    Emotional distance
v    Financial challenges
v    Future planning
v    Getting ready for marriage
v    Infertility or decisions about having children
v    Major life adjustments
v    Parenting conflicts
v    Physical and mental health challenges
v    Responsibility disagreements
v    Sexual difficulties
v    Substance abuse
v    Unemployment

Types of couples counseling
There are different approaches to couples counseling. The approach used may depend on the couple, their challenges and goals, and the training of the provider. Additionally, multiple approaches may be used with the same couple or in the same session.

v    A behavioral approach to counseling considers the environment and how it reinforces or impacts thoughts and behaviors to guide changes that benefit the couple.

v    A humanistic approach to couples counseling focuses on bringing awareness to the uniqueness of the individuals to achieve goals.

v    An integrative approach to couples counseling uses multiple methods to serve the needs of the couple and the situation.

v    A psychodynamic approach to couples counseling considers influences from the past to bring increased awareness to dynamics that are impacting the couple in the present in order to facilitate change.

Couples counseling involves conversations between romantic partners and a professional who provides counseling. Discussion generally focuses on a specific problem or issue that is the reason for seeking counseling, as well as goals for working together.

The process also involves strategies and learning skills to improve the relationship, such as communication skills, problem-solving skills, and strategies for discussing differences and overcoming problems together.

Couples counseling helps reunite the flame
You e likely not going to be as passionate as you were when you two were young and first dating. However, your relationship shouldn be completely devoid of excitement. There was a reason the two of you became attracted to one another, and by getting back to those reasons, you can reignite the flame and find creative ways to keep the passion going. A counselor can help you to remember why you were so attracted to your partner in the first place.

Couples counseling assists with learning how to parent together
Often, the reason couples argue when they are parents is disagreements on how to raise their children. One parent may be stricter than the other, and there may be debates because of that. A couples therapist will support partners as they discuss how to approach discipline, schooling, giving equal attention to multiple children, and raising youth who are living with learning disabilities, mental health conditions, or other difficulties. If there is a parenting topic where partners seek more insight, the couples counselor can direct them to evidence-based resources.

Counseling helps couples move on from infidelity
One of the biggest hurdles a couple may confront in their relationship is infidelity. You are supposed to be connected to your partner for life, and when one of you cheats, it can cause the other partner to question all aspects of their relationship. What is true and what is not? When can they rely on their partner and when can they not? What other secrets is their partner keeping from them?

You can end a relationship immediately, which might deprive both of you from experiencing real closure. You could also visit a couples counselor to explore why the unfaithful partner chose to cheat. The more information you have, and the more time youve had to process your emotions, the better equipped you will be to make a decision about how to move forward, either in or out of a committed relationship.

Sometimes, its just good to know your options and have all the information you can in order to feel confident in whether to break up or stay together. Maybe your relationship has been lacking intimacy. Perhaps youve been cheating, as well, and your partner was just the first one to get caught. While infidelity is serious, a counselor can help both parties understand why it happened and help them forgive and/or move on.

Couples Counseling encourages you to see things from your partners perspective
In our own stories, we tend to play the protagonist or the hero. This mentality makes it hard for us to view things from the other side. Its hard to show empathy and look at the event from your partners perspective in a disagreement. By looking at an issue through your partners lens, you may realize more nuance to their point of view. While your partner may not be entirely in the right, you may realize that you weren , either. A couples therapist can teach you how to analyze an issue from multiple perspectives, even ones outside of your and your partners thinking.