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COUPLES THERAPY

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When a couple begins a relationship or marriage, they hope that everything will be easy and fall right into place. They see all the similarities between themselves and may not notice the differences that may lead to issues and problems down the line. This is normal and natural for people falling in love. We tend to idealise our partners and are not in a place to look for anything that might worry us in the future.

However, you and your partner are different and come from two unique worlds. You have different ways of thinking, ideas about life, and thoughts on various issues and topics that will come up in every relationship. Navigating this can be difficult, and couples often do not know how to talk about these things without the discussion erupting into an argument. These seemingly small disagreements may eventually turn into much bigger issues if not handled in a healthy way. If you and your partner keep arguing over the same topics and feel like your arguments keep playing out the same way without resolution, this might be a good time for therapy.

Couples often bring in issues such as communication problems, infidelity, sexual difficulties, financial disagreements, differences in parenting, depression and/or anxiety, and differences in life goals, morals, and values. These are all areas that need careful navigation and attention. Commonly, people think of these issues as “deal breakers,” but that is not necessarily the case. When managed and worked through in a healthy way, a relationship often becomes stronger in the long run.

What is Involved with Couples Therapy

All therapy sessions, with either new couples starting or already in a relationship, or a married couple who have been together for a long time, will be a joint sessions where you and your partner will discuss what you see as the problems in your relationship or marriage. You will discuss when they began and how they have evolved over time. Your therapist will encourage you to explore the arguments you have had with each other and how they usually progress. This will give your therapist a good idea of your argument style and the common issues that plague your relationship. Each of these couples therapy or marriage counselling sessions is completely confidential, and your therapist will not bring up anything discussed in your joint sessions with anyone else.

The subsequent therapy sessions will be working sessions where your therapist will help you both work through issues, develop better communication skills, and assist you both in working towards the relationship you both want. Weekly sessions are encouraged to gain momentum and maintain positive progression while working on homework that will probably be assigned during your session.

What Does Couples Therapy (Psychotherapy) and Counseling Treat

Approaches to relationship therapy are varied and many, and this kind of therapy can help a variety of different types of relationships — not just marriages. Whether the couple involves straight, LGBTQ, young, elderly, or mixed race individuals, couples therapy can often help.

Premarital therapy, another type of couples counseling, helps engaged couples address relationship issues — before the couple marries — that may arise during the union.

Family counseling or therapy addresses issues within the entire family rather than just between couples. This type of counseling sometimes occurs concurrently with other types of treatment, including couples counseling, or it may be the primary mode of therapy.

Although marriage therapy is sometimes called “couples counseling,” couples counseling can benefit couples of all types, including gay and lesbian couples. Same-sex couples share many of the same issues that heterosexual issues face, including infidelity, jealousy, and communication concerns. However, they also might encounter additional problems, such as discrimination, which can lead to stress. Couples counseling can help same-sex couples deal with these and other issues.

The most common couple problems we encounter are: Communication, Competition, Expectations, Infidelity, Jealousy, Health, Mental Health, Addictions, Conflict, Anger Management, In-Law Relations, Money, Parenting & Job Loss.