Should You Seek Relationship Counseling?

Relationship Counseling: What Is It And What Does It Mean?

Relationship counseling is a therapy for couples that helps them navigate and resolve challenges as a unit. Connection counseling may help you and your partner keep your passionate relationship going by tackling big and little issues. While some couples visit a relationship therapist to keep their relationship on track, the majority of couples seek help when things go wrong. Relationship therapists may help couples with problems including communication, conflict resolution, finances, and infidelity, to mention a few.

Relationship therapy is becoming more common as couples realize they can't manage their difficulties on their own. Recognizing this is an important first step, and it's important to realize that it doesn't mean you've given up! It may be exceedingly difficult to navigate the highs and lows of a relationship, as well as the problems unique to romantic partnerships. Seeing a qualified couples therapist to help you work through these challenges is often the most effective method to improve or perhaps preserve your relationship. Relationship therapy seeks to provide you and your spouse the skills you need to cope with current and future challenges in a constructive and caring way, ensuring that your relationship stays strong and stands the test of time.

What's The Difference Between Individual Vs. Couples Therapy?

It's crucial to understand the differences between difficulties that need partnership treatment and those that require solo therapy. True, if one partner is experiencing issues, they will most likely leak over into the partnership, impacting your love relationship. If this is the case, it's vital to figure out what's causing the problems and how to fix them. It isn't always necessary to see a couple's therapist. If one of you is causing the troubles, that person should seek individual therapy to deal with the issues on his or her own. This isn't an excuse to blame all of your problems on one person; rather, it's important to understand that not all relationship problems stem from the connection.

If you and your spouse are serious about addressing your problems, you must have open and honest talks about the nature of the problems and if you and your partner share responsibility for them. Let's pretend your spouse has unresolved anger problems that are causing your relationship's fights to escalate instead than resolving. Couples' counseling to develop conflict resolution skills will be futile if this is the case since your partner's anger management difficulties will intensify the situation. Couples therapy could be a good next step, but your spouse has to learn to control their anger first. Identifying the cause of your relationship problems can help you choose the best course of treatment for a better and happier partnership. Individual and relationship therapy are complementary, but not interchangeable.

There Are A Few Different Types Of Relationship Therapy

If you and your spouse decide that relationship counseling is right for you, be aware that there are many different forms of relationship counseling available today. Most people envision frequent in-person meetings with a therapist to identify and treat specific issues in your relationship so that you may work together to find answers and move forward. In-person relationship counseling encompasses a wide range of strategies. For example, the Gottman Strategy is a research-based strategy that combines individual and couple therapy sessions to uncover issues in your relationship and help you move toward a shared life experience. In addition to the Gottman Method, there are a variety of in-person relationship therapy options. Traditional therapy may be a vital resource for any couple going through a tough period, but it isn't the only kind of relationship counseling accessible.

In addition to in-person, specialized couples therapy, couples seminars and retreats may help you and your spouse navigate your relationship in a group setting. These classes use group dynamics to help you and your spouse solve problems with the help of others who have been in similar circumstances. Many relationship counseling resources are now accessible online and as apps, allowing many couples to avoid going to treatment. A variety of relationship counseling and relationship coaching applications are available to help couples resolve their concerns in a less formal, more convenient context.

Apps may link you and your spouse with a relationship coach who can help you define and accomplish your couple goals. You may also take online tests to learn more about your relationship and solve any problems you may be having.

In addition to these technological resources, you may consider reading relationship self-help books to assist you and your partner go through your problems. These books are less suited to your personal situation, yet they may still provide useful insight and answers to your relationship problems. Even if the books aren't about couples, they may deal with sexuality, aging, religion, and other issues. If you and your spouse are considering relationship therapy, it's important to consider all of the different forms of relationship therapy available so you can find the right fit. It's also not necessary to specialize in a certain kind of treatment. Treatments of many kinds might sometimes help you and your partner work through problems and stay mindful of their connection.

Signs To Consider Trying Relationship Therapy

Whether you're wondering if you should visit a relationship therapist, the answer is almost certainly yes. Relationship therapy may help you and your spouse work together to overcome obstacles so that you can keep your relationship happy and healthy. If you and your spouse are committed to one other, the process, and the possibility of transforming your relationship, relationship counseling may be quite useful in healing any difficulties that arise. If you and your partner fight frequently, are emotionally and/or sexually distant from one another, are unable to effectively communicate, have identified a problematic pattern or recurring issues, one of you has been unfaithful, or are going through a major life event, relationship therapy may be right for you. These are crucial principles to follow when contemplating relationship therapy, but remember that no issue is too large or too little to bring to the attention of a relationship therapist.

In the end, you and your partner should be happy in your relationship, but if you aren't, it's worth looking into why. Although many situations may be managed without the help of a therapist, there are times when seeking the opinion of a professional with a different viewpoint is vitally necessary. The most important feature of relationship therapy is that both you and your spouse want to get treatment. It's vital to find out why one of you is unwilling to work on your relationship.

Counseling Through The Internet/App Vs. In-Person

Both in-person and online therapy may assist you in achieving the same goal: a resolution to your relationship problems and a happier, more fulfilling marriage. Examine how in-person and online therapy differ in terms of method, convenience, cost, and other considerations before determining which route to choose. Some couples prefer face-to-face therapy because it enables them to develop a personal relationship with their therapist.

As previously said, in-person counseling is the most prevalent method, and some couples choose it since it is conventional and presumably tried and true. While this is undeniably advantageous, you and your partner should be aware of some big disadvantages. In-person therapy has many drawbacks, including awkward scheduling and expensive costs. Meeting with a therapist in person as a couple means arranging the schedules of three people, which may be challenging. It also means allocating some of your free time to therapy visits.

In comparison to in-person therapy, online counseling is significantly less common. The couple is prioritized above the therapist-couple connection in online therapy. The therapist works as a guide for you and your spouse when you need aid. This approach may require more active participation and problem-solving from you and your relationship, but it may also help you and your spouse face your challenges front on as a pair.

Online counseling may help long-distance couples who don't have access to in-person therapy but still need relationship help. 

 

If you are looking for relationship therapy, contact:

Dr. Maryann B Schaefer

5 Travers St, Manhasset, NY 11030

(516) 627-1145