By Marissa Massimini, AMFT
Relationships are hard work! As couples navigate the ups and downs of life, many find it hard to stay connected, feel supported and be seen by their partners. In times like this, receiving support from a trained professional within couples therapy, can serve as a great space to receive support on their journey to self-fulfillment and healthy relationships.
What is Couples Therapy?
Many of us have consumed depictions of couples therapy in the general media, leading to assumptions or even fears of what to expect. Couples therapy is a space in which those in a relationship can safely explore their current experience and work towards making positive changes! With the help of a couples therapist, you and your partner can experience new levels of intimacy, connection and overall happiness. This work can be done as a way to establish a strong foundation at the beginning of a relationship, as a “tune up” following a stressful event, or to explore serious hurts or long term struggles that have occurred over time. No matter the space you are in within your relationship, couples therapy is a helpful space to experience greater clarity and connection!
What to Talk About in Couples Therapy
Couples therapy is a space in which you and your partner can talk about any and all experiences related to your relationship such as communication, intimacy, parenting, family dynamics to name a few! Oftentimes, couples are coming into therapy with a desire to feel more heard and understood by their partner, and working with couples therapist can help partners gain the tools and skills needed to make that happen.
1.)Build and Strengthens an Emotional Connection with your Partner
Over time, conflict and general life stress can weaken emotional connection within a relationship. A couples therapist can help partners express more of their vulnerable emotions and needs to increase emotional connection.
2.)Resolve Conflict
All couples will experience conflict, but it is possible to move through conflict more effectively as a team! This sometimes requires support from an objective third person, such as a couples therapist, to help couples practice the active listening and validation required to move towards resolution.
3.) Better Understanding of your Partner
Each relationship moves through seasons of life and experiences change. With the business of life it is often hard for partners to slow down to check in with these change and express them to one another. The space of couples therapy assists partners in exploring their internal world and feeling more seen and understood by their partner.
4.)Increase Self-Awareness
In addition to relationships experiencing changes over time, so do partners as individuals! As partners learn more about experiences within their relationship within couples therapy, they often gain increased awareness of dynamics within the self such as: patterns from childhood, emotion regulation, needs, fears and overall life goals.
5.) Improve Intimacy
A couple’s ability to connect on an intimate level is deeply tied to emotional safety and overall
satisfaction within a relationship. Work done within couples therapy to increase emotional connection and communication skills can positively impact our intimate connection.
6.) Help with Talking About a Tough/Touchy Topic
All of us have topics that feel tough or “touchy” to communicate about. This can lead to feeling unheard or misunderstood by our partners when they come up. Couples therapists provide necessary support for couples to effectively communicate and connect with one another in these tough moments.
7.) Parenting:
Navigating parenting within a relationship leads to significant transitions and increased need for open communication and support.. For couples who also share parenting roles, having space and support to discuss values, goals and overall struggles of parenthood is important, especially when it feels hard to work as a team.
8. Rebuilding Trust
Over time, conflict can corrode trust within a relationship. Increasing positive and emotionally safe connection through gaining communication skills and increased awareness within couples therapy is a great way to rebuild trust between partners.
9. Assist in the Prevention of Future Problems
Working with a couples therapist can establish a strong foundation of communication and emotional connection within a relationship. Through building healthy communication habits and gaining support in practicing them outside of session, the possibility of future conflict can decrease significantly.
10. Improve Communication
Due to couple’s therapists’ professional training, they can provide effective tools, techniques and overall guidance to assist couples in improving their communication. Over time, couples will gain confidence to applying these techniques on their own, which leads to lasting positive change!
11. Renewed Commitment
Going to therapy is hard work, and is a major investment of time and energy! Pursuing therapy is a major renewal of a couple’s commitment to each other and to making improvements within their relationship.
12. Reduces Stress and Anxiety
Conflict and disconnection within a relationship can be a major source of overwhelm and anxiety. Instead of partners serving as a source of stress, couples therapy can help couples connect and experience their partner as a source of emotional support and comfort.
Is Couples Therapy Worth It?
It is clear there are many reasons - at least 12 :) - as to why couples therapy is worth it! Taking the time and energy to work with a couples therapist can lead to immense improvement in connection, intimacy and overall quality of life. It is important to find a therapist that works for you when deciding to take the step to pursue couples therapy. At Positive Change Counseling Center, we offer couples therapy services from a variety of therapy providers who come prepared with various professional backgrounds and training experiences that you can learn more about on our website. For booking inquiries, please reach out to our administrative team at info@pccounselingcenter.com (619)733-6414 https://www.pccounselingcenter.com/request-an-appointment

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