Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Should You Consider Couples Therapy?

By Martin Baker

Are you searching for a therapist because you're in a marriage which feels like it's dead or seems to provide only irritation and anger?

Not many experiences feel more distressing than choosing to share a lifetime with another person and later learning you're unable to connect with them in a positive way.

When you feel like your partner isn't the person you fell in love with; when you feel like the communication gap between you widens every day; when it feels like your relationship is beyond help after discovering an affair... you may begin to feel that it's too late to do anything to salvage and save the love you once shared.

However, since you're reading this article, you probably still care enough about your significant other and your marriage you're willing to help it by any means you possibly can. If that's the case, your marriage is certainly well worth rescuing and should certainly be given a chance to be successful.

Couples counseling and psychotherapy can help you revive the trust and intimacy your relationship previously enjoyed. Couples therapy offers a safe place plus techniques and resources you need to provide your marriage a chance of success. Couples therapy can help you and your spouse:

Put an end to never-ending quarrels

Overcome past hurts and unpleasant memories

Resolve parenting differences

Transform your intimacy and love life

Overcome infidelity

Become closer

Take an active, involved, and interested part in the life you've created with each other

When considering couples counseling and therapy, it's not unusual to ask yourself whether visiting a marriage therapist will actually help.

Considering this, a lot of studies have been carried out to discover the effectiveness of couples counseling.

Included in an article posted by the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, clients of marriage and family therapists from fifteen states revealed their experiences with couples therapy. The conclusions show that marriage and family therapists can competently address a wide range of couples issues in a fairly limited time and that client outcomes and levels of satisfaction are quite impressive.

Just about all couples therapists would agree that a couple's determination to make their relationship succeed is the most vital thing in determining the success of couples counseling. Even the best couples therapist is unlikely to rescue a relationship in which one partner has already chosen to walk out, and even an average couples counselor will probably help a couple who is utterly devoted to helping to make their relationship succeed..

What type of couples get the most from couples therapy? The answer seems to be relatively young, non-sexist couples who are still in love and are willing to be open and honest with one another.

Which couples don't seem to benefit from couples counseling? Couples counseling seems to be significantly less effective for couples who wait too long prior to looking for assistance, and when one partner is already set on leaving and is not open to any solutions that can help save the relationship.

That having been said, if you and your partner are serious about creating the best relationship possible, couples counseling and couples therapy can provide a safe space to explore your relationship, help you uncover and overcome the destructive patterns in your interactions with one another, and provide you communication tools and skills to restore trust, build intimacy, and rediscover the joy, surprise, and closeness in your relationship.

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