Does Couples Therapy Work?
Have you and your partner had some tricky times recently?
Maybe you two are fighting more than usual, or feeling a lack of intimacy. Maybe you want to take the next step, but your partner’s happy where you two are. Whatever is causing your tricky times, support is available.
If you and your partner need some assistance to better your relationship and are willing to work on it, couples counselling is a great option.
There is a lot that couples therapy can help with, so read more to discover if it would be a good fit for your relationship.
What is Couples Therapy?
Couples therapy is a form of joint counselling – the two of you see one therapist together.
Therapy is a safe, non-judgmental space to express your true feelings vulnerably. You can discuss any issue you have been having with your partner constructively. The therapist will provide a neutral, unbiased perspective on those issues.
They can also help you two properly hear each other’s needs in the early stages of therapy. Do not expect the therapist to take sides in a conflict.
The therapist considers the issue objectively. They can understand and validate both sides.
Some people see couples therapy as a chance to prove themselves right and have the other partner’s opinion seen as “wrong”.
Winning is not the point of couples counselling!
Neither of you is right or wrong – you both have different perspectives. Couples therapy will teach you how to express your perspectives healthily. You can also learn how to problem-solve together when your perspectives do not align.
Learning to handle conflict, communicate calmly, and actively listen to each other can help you repair your relationship and maintain those gains after therapy.
Couples therapy will typically start with an evaluation of the couple together.
This evaluation helps the therapist understand the couple’s dynamic and both partner’s perspectives.
The therapist may even briefly meet with each partner individually.
The individual meetings allow the therapist to screen for any other issues that should be addressed, perhaps in individual therapy. To discover if individual therapy can help a marriage, click here.
Couples therapy can strengthen the foundation of your relationship.
You and your partner can become closer than ever after learning the skills to communicate calmly and show each other affection.
What can Couples Therapy be Used for?
Different types of couples therapy aim to achieve different goals.
Approaches like Emotion-Focused Therapy, Gottman’s couples therapy, Psychodynamic therapy, and Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT) are all great forms of couples therapy.
Choose the approach you want based on what you want to get out of therapy.
Whether you want to change thought patterns that create conflict, communicate feelings, build happiness and optimism, or solve a specific problem – there is an approach that will help.
Couples therapy can also teach you two coping skills to help you handle conflict more effectively.
If there is an issue you two deal with, therapy can help you navigate your challenges together. As well as give you the skills to navigate challenges in your everyday lives. Therapy can also help you rekindle your romance.
Rediscovering your purpose in your relationship can bring you two closer together. Finally, you can work on achieving goals that you have set as a couple.
Does Couples Therapy Work?
Yes, couples therapy works!
Research shows that 70% of couples in therapy report positive improvements in their relationship.
Some approaches to therapy are even more effective.
Emotion-focused therapy is beneficial for 75% of couples who attend.
You two can learn to appreciate and feel thankful for each other again.
66% of relationships improve in 20 sessions or less – great returns in such a short time! You have to be willing to put in the work.
Otherwise, you will not make the necessary changes to fix your issues.
You should have a mindset of wanting to change and save your relationship. If you think your relationship is too far gone, you will not be able to remedy it. It is also important to start therapy early.
Couples who wait too long to start therapy after issues arise are less successful. So, do not wait too long!
Using what you learn in therapy in your everyday lives to be a better partner can make couples therapy work for you and your partner.
Who Can Benefit from Couples Therapy?
Many couples can benefit from couples therapy.
As there are many approaches to couples therapy, you can work on many issues. If you and your partner struggle with poor communication skills, couples therapy is for you. You two can learn healthy ways to communicate and actively listen to each other. These skills can help with conflict resolution going forward.
Likewise, if you or your partner tend to get argumentative, learning communication skills can keep discussions fair.
Learning to speak to one another with patience and compassion can improve your relationship. Couples therapy can also help repair trust issues in the partnership.
After something like infidelity or gaslighting, trust between partners may be very low. To fix the relationship, you have to restore the trust.
So, a couple can learn to re-trust each other and fall back in love.
Therapy can also be beneficial for couples who are experiencing a lack of intimacy in their relationship.
When intimacy has dwindled, relationships may feel more like a roommate situation. Therapy can help you rekindle your passion and excitement!
If you feel like you have fallen out of love with your partner, regaining that spark can save your relationship.
You can learn what you need to keep that spark alive and make changes in your relationship to prioritize each other.
Finally, couples therapy is great for couples looking to take the next step or struggling to.
If you and your partner want to start a family, couples therapy is a space to discuss what kind of parents you want to be.
You can talk about expectations and roles beforehand to make the transition to parenthood easier. Or, if you and your partner cannot decide on your long-term goals, therapy can help.
You two can share what is most important to you and learn how to set and prioritize shared goals for your future.
Couples therapy is very effective for the majority of couples.
As long as you put in the effort, it can work for you.
There are many issues that you can work through in couples therapy.
Your therapist can teach you two skills and strategies to be better partners.
Skills like conflict management, healthy communication, and patience will go a long way in restoring your relationship.
We know how much you value your partnership and deserve the support you need to strengthen it.
If you are interested in trying couples counselling at Toronto Therapy Practice, click the link below to book a free consultation with us.
