Couples Counseling

Couples therapy is for couples who are in a relationship, married or not. The goal of therapy is to improve the couples’ relationship, how they function together.

While the divorce rate is going down in the U.S., most attribute it to the number of couples cohabitating without marriage has increased. Nonetheless, whether you are married or not, strife at home can lead to angst in many areas of your life.

Couples counseling is not a magic fix, however, those couples who go through the process of counseling are often successful at saving a dying relationship.

Does counseling work? According to the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, 97% of surveyed clients said they received the help they needed. Over 80% said that couple counseling had a positive impact on their relationship. Couple counseling can give you the tools needed to overcome challenges and improve the quality of your relationship.

How can you be sure couples counseling will help? Follow these four tips by Jessica Saxena, an editor at BetterHelp.

1. Before heading into counseling, think about what you want to achieve through it. Be ready to accept your faults and be willing to do the personal work necessary.
2. Set boundaries with friends and family. Let the professional help you make the right decisions for you and your partner. It’s important to limit the amount of influence friends have as they may have an emotional stake in your relationship.
3. Find a counselor you both are comfortable with. Counseling requires collaboration among all three of you. As a couple, you may need to move on to another couselor if your current therapist isn’t working out to your mutual benefit.
4. Start early. Waiting too long to get help can cause issues to fester, making you grow to resent each other. Get help as soon as you can to help you both overcome challenges and strengthen your relationship