How Marriage Counseling Can Save Your Union
Most marriages and other relationships aren’t perfect. Each person brings his or her own ideas, values, opinions, and personal history into a relationship, and they don’t always match their partners. Those differences don’t necessarily mean your relationship is bound for conflict. On the contrary, differences can be complementary — you know the saying about opposites attracting. These differences can also help people understand, respect, and accept opposing views and cultures. Marriage counseling, also called couples therapy, helps couples — married or not — understand and resolve conflicts and improve their relationship. Marriage counseling gives couples the tools to communicate better, negotiate differences, problem-solve, and even argue in a healthier way.
Relationships can be tested. Differences or habits that you once found endearing may grate on your nerves after time together. Sometimes specific issues, such as an extramarital affair or loss of sexual attraction, trigger problems in a relationship. Other times, there’s a gradual disintegration of communication and caring. You may hope your relationship troubles just go away on their own. But left to fester, a bad relationship may only worsen and eventually lead to physical or psychological problems, such as depression. A bad relationship can also create problems on the job and affect other family members or even friendships as people feel compelled to take sides.
All couples experience conflict. For some it battles about money; for others, it’s a sex life that’s lacking or a pattern of constant arguing. And the coronavirus pandemic has added yet another potential stressor: more time at home together, which can exacerbate tensions or expose hidden cracks in a relationship. Therapy can help. Contrary to what some may believe, it’s not about finger-pointing — who did what or who is to blame. Rather, marriage counseling provides tools for communicating and asking for what you need. Marriage counseling is often short term. You may need only a few sessions to help you weather a crisis. Or you may need counseling for several months, particularly if your relationship has greatly deteriorated. As with individual psychotherapy, you typically see a marriage counselor once a week. It typically brings couples or partners together for joint therapy sessions. The counselor or therapist helps couples pinpoint and understand the sources of their conflicts and try to resolve them. You and your partner will analyze both the good and bad parts of your relationship.
Marriage counseling can help you rebuild your relationship. Or decide that you’ll both be better off if you split up. Either way, marriage counseling can help you understand your relationship better and make well-thought-out decisions. There’s always the possibility of fixing problems. In Erie County, NY and the surrounding areas, Koepke Marriage And Family & Mental Health Counseling, PLLC is the trusted professional when it comes to couples therapy. Call me at (716) 688-5002 for inquiries.