When your marriage is not going smoothly, you should not hesitate to seek counseling right away. Also called couples counseling or relationship therapy, marriage counseling can improve your relationship. Of course, it is important to find a qualified counselor, such as those of Greene Psychology Group in Raleigh, NC. You must feel comfortable with your chosen therapist in order to put your best effort into improving your relationship.
Will couples therapy help my relationship?
If you are wondering whether couples counseling will help your relationship, ask the following questions about yourself, your loved one and the relationship as a whole:
- Did you become a couple at a young age?
- Did you finish high school?
- Are you and your loved one of different faiths?
- Did your parents' relationship break up?
- Are you prone to criticizing each other?
- Is there defensive behavior within your relationship?
- Do you withdraw from each other?
- Feel angry at one another?
- Do you suffer poor communication?
- Has infidelity, addiction or abuse occurred within your relationship?
- Do you struggle with financial problems or low income?
Statistically, the more yes answers you provided to the above questions, the more you are likely to experience a break up of your relationship. While this does not mean you are inevitably going to separate from your loved one, it does mean you need to work harder to stay together. It also means couples counseling can help.
How Counseling for Couples Can Work
Studies prove relationship therapy is effective with long-lasting benefits. It helps people from all walks of life, particularly those from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. A 2017 study of veterans in couples counseling proved the therapy effective and still improving their relationships 18 months after treatment ended. The counseling has also been proven effective for couples experiencing infertility.
Who benefits most from couples counseling?
A therapist can help you understand whether these methods will work for you and your relationship. But specific types of couples can get the most out of the therapy. The people most likely to benefit include:
- Young couples
- Non-sexist and equal couples
- Those still in love
- Those open to therapy and change
- People willing to look inward and at their own flaws
Who benefits least from this counseling?
Relationships less likely to benefit from couples counseling include:
- Those moving closer to divorce and away from working on their relationship
- Wherein one person is set on splitting up
- Those with minds closed to suggestions that can help
- Where one party suffers addiction to alcohol, drugs, gambling or pornography
- Relationships wherein one person feels unsupportive of change or improvement
All relationships experience conflict. But healthier relationships involve people who know how to handle this conflict and work through their problems using healthy communication. They have a solid foundation of friendship and affection from which to base their union. Unhappy couples are typically those unable to work through disagreements, or those without a foundation of friendship and affection.
Start Couples Counseling to Improve Your Relationship Today
If you feel your relationship, whether married or not, is experiencing too much conflict, couples counseling can help. But you should seek this help sooner rather than later. Treatment is not a quick fix. It takes time and the investment of both individuals in doing the work to improve their relationship.
Greene Psychology Group in Raleigh, NC provides relationship therapy through in-person and teletherapy visits. Call us today at 919-205-5339 for more information and scheduling.