Marriage counseling should never be viewed as a last resort. Couples therapy offers a wide array of benefits to those who are ready and willing to strengthen the bond they have with their significant other.
Contrary to popular belief, couples counseling is about more than solving arguments, and you’ll find that therapy can help in many more situations.
Do You Need Marriage Counseling?
Because couples counseling is tailored to the couple that are attending therapy sessions, it’s likely that relationship therapy is going to benefit you in one way or another.
Premarital Counseling
Getting married is a big event. Premarital counseling gives you and your significant other the space to dive deep into what you each expect from the marriage and how you want to take steps together going forward. With the added stress of wedding planning, couples counseling can give you a quiet space to focus on your relationship with your partner and work on strengthening the bond you have.
Children & Blended Families
Children heavily impact the marital relationship. Whether you’re deciding to start a family, or learning how to bring two families together, a counselor can offer expert guidance to keep your relationship steady. You may have different expectations for parenting roles, or you may be anxious as you take on the role of a parent. Taking the time to work with a counselor as you move forward can relieve these feelings of anxiety and provide you and your spouse with communication techniques to implement at home.
Substance Abuse
Being married doesn’t exempt you from suffering individual battles like addiction, however, it does often become an issue that the couple deals with together. As one partner goes through individual and group counseling for substance abuse, it works to the benefit of both parties if family counseling takes place. Couples in this situation may need some extra help in learning to how best support their partner through an addiction without enabling bad habits.
Lack Of Quality Time
It’s important to spend quality time with your partner. More than just time spent together, quality time means there are no distractions from phones or kids, and you can relax with your partner without needing an activity to keep you busy. In our daily lives, sometimes it’s hard to set aside responsibilities for quality time. If, in the current climate, you’re staying at home with your spouse all day, what started off as an opportunity for quality time might have evolved into something completely different.
Intimacy Issues
Having issues with intimacy and sexual attraction is nothing to be ashamed of. A relationship therapist works to bring a couple into a private and safe environment where they can voice their concerns and seek guidance. From a medical standpoint, they can also offer guidance if they believe that seeking medical professional will benefit the couple.
How Marriage Counseling Benefits You
So, what does marriage counseling actually do to help you? There’s a key skill that the majority of couples’ therapy sessions will focus on communication. Couples need to learn to communicate effectively, and that also means they need to learn to listen with empathy.
In general, marriage counseling is given on a short-term basis, although this depends on your particular situation. However, the skills you learn during the time spent with a counselor will see you through a lifetime. From learning to understand each other better in premarital counseling, you can iron out the small squabbles with your significant other with effective communication.
Counseling serves to help give you deeper insight into your significant other and teaches you how to face problems together. Don’t be afraid to reach out to Fifth Street Counseling Center, take the steps to improve your relationship today.
