Reasons Why Couples Counseling Is Important

By Lelia Hall


Different situations in marriage require unique treatment plans. Couples counseling also known as marriage therapy is a form of psychotherapy. It is provided by relationship experts to support couples who are seeking to improve understanding or intimacy or considering divorce. The focus is mainly on the relationship and not individual. Self awareness and improvement may be the focus of individual partners.

A number of factors may warrant necessity for such services. The reasons could range from infidelity, sexual dissatisfaction, communication problems to power struggles in a relationship. Counseling is recommended within the earliest time possible when partners start feeling discontented. Early intervention is important as it increases chances of repairing the relationship.

The therapy deals with many aspects of life in marriage with focus on communication. The reason for most marital unhappiness and divorce cases is lack of sufficient repair after a conflict. Partners who use conflict avoidance techniques for long or argue a lot normally have problems with communication. This in turn leads to detaste and it can be hard to work out their differences.

The initial step to enhancing relationships, which many counselors advocate for is working on communication skills. They teach individual partner how to manage their emotions, remain cool, and using their skills to communicate and solve problems. The tactic has proven to be beneficial if observed accordingly. The success and efficiency of the therapy is determined by commitment and motivation of parties involved. More commitment by the partners translates into faster results, hence less time of counseling.

It is expected that at the end of the session the couple will have improved to better communicators and listeners. They are expected to be in position to get new better techniques to support one another. Couples set goals they intend to achieve at the end of the session with assistance of the therapist. When setting goals the role of each partner is outlined clearly to avoid further conflicts.

Marriage therapy sessions are provided once in a week. The frequency may differ according to the expected results and whether the client is attending other group or individual sessions. Counseling is provided in wide range of settings. Sessions may stop after a given duration or may go on until a solution is arrived at to avoid the sources of trouble in the marriage.

There are many strategies to marriage therapy, though therapists use approaches that are likely to work with the problem the customer is having. The strategies include internal family systems therapy, emotionally focused therapy, imago therapy, Gottman model and pastoral therapy among others. Pastoral counseling involves members of the clergy like pastors, rabbis, and priests amongst other professionals in the same group.

To increase chances of positive therapy outcomes is is good to consult a therapist who specializes in the issue affecting the relationship. Finding a therapist may be hard but the internet provides a viable solution to this problem. A qualified therapist usually has a license. It is good to consult the families that the specialist worked for comments. Most of them have details pertaining their job on their private websites.




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