Relationship counseling can be an amazing resource for all couples, married or not, and unfortunately, many overlook or neglect this potential solution that can potentially save even the most deteriorated relationships.
In this article, you will learn about some of the ways that relationship counseling can be very effective for different kinds of couples and the issues they may face.
1. Intimacy Issues
It’s normal for some degree of physical intimacy to become less frequent with age; however, that doesn’t mean emotional intimacy should decline, and a lack of it can be quite destructive and a leading cause of divorce in couples.
Therapy can bring love back into the relationship by having clients start reintroducing small but effective gestures that can create a sense of connectedness.
Importantly, counseling will get couples talking about the issues that can contribute to a lack of love and intimacy and discover other solutions to it.
2. Conflict & Arguments
Disagreements can be a healthy part of a functioning relationship, but it’s contingent on how they are resolved.
Arguments that are chronic can often become hurtful, malicious or not, and it’s up to a therapist to help their clients find more productive ways of diffusing these types of conflicts, like changing the way they phrase their concerns (i.e., avoid directly blaming their partner)
3. You’re Expecting Big Life Changes
Life is full of transitions, especially for couples, and it can be tricky to prepare and some can feel loss when life-changing events happen.
For example, buying a new home, finding a new job, or having a baby are a few common instances of big transitions and therapy can help couples have an easier time navigating them before and after they occur.
Premarital counseling can also fall under this category too, since marriage is a significant step in many relationships.
4. Infidelity & Other Trust Issues
When partners are unfaithful, there can be numerous reasons why it occurs, not just out of anger or spite, and a therapist can try to get couples to talk to each other about this issue and why it happened.
Naturally, trust can be broken, and it will take a tremendous amount of work to try to repair it, but it’s possible with time and commitment.
Distrust, in general, is something that can also arise for various reasons, including insecurity, and this is also something that can be worked on.
5. Breakups & Divorce
Although tons of relationships can be salvaged with some professional help, not all of them can; sometimes, it’s time for a relationship to end.
However, this doesn’t mean that you might not need a counselor, though.
Following a separation, it’s common to feel all kinds of emotions, such as anger, grief, confusion, and much more, and it helps to have someone to talk to who can help you cope.
Also, despite being separated, there are many situations where individuals need to be in contact with each other, such as divorced parents, and counseling can help keep things civil and maintain good parenting styles, which you can learn about here: https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/parenting/how-parenting-styles-psychology-helps-to-shape-your-child/.
Communication Is Everything!
Relationships are very complex and as you can see, many different types of issues can arise at any point, and the single most important thing that must be addressed in order to work on and potentially resolve them is by developing communication skills between couples.
This is because for most issues, like the ones mentioned in this article, can be traced to poor communication.
However, counseling and therapy isn’t only for dysfunctional relationships- couples who are looking to strengthen their happy relationships can still get a lot out of professional guidance and benefit from becoming better communicators which will translate to being a better partner.
At BetterHelp, you can connect to licensed counselors and therapists who are trained to help couples build a more positive relationship with one another and have a happier future together or find ways to feel more empowered and independent.
Conclusion
If problems have been plaguing your relationship or you’re simply looking to take the next step, reaching out to a relationship counselor is one of the best things you can do for yourself.
While many people often come to it as a last resort when they’ve exhausted all of their options, the skills that are learned are ideal for preventing issues