One of the reasons why the divorce rate in America is so high is because most couples enter marriage while they are still in the honeymoon stage of their relationship. Few people understand that living and loving another person for the rest of their life is a task that requires work, compromise, and sometimes couples therapy. In fact, it is a myth to think that the only couples who see a psychologist are those heading toward a divorce. In reality, many people who are committed to making their relationship work go to couples therapy to learn how to strengthen their relationship.
Who is a Candidate for Couples Therapy?
When both partners work hard to keep their relationship thriving, they are more likely to have a happy life and marriage. Even the best psychologist cannot fix a relationship where the partners have already given up. Therefore, in order for couples therapy to be truly useful, both parties need to be willing to do the work and focused on creating a better relationship. Even couples still madly in love can benefit from working with a psychologist because the tools learned in couples therapy will help cement their connection, which will help when the bad days pop up.
What are the Benefits of Couples Therapy?
The foundation of any strong marriage is effective communication, but communication skills don’t always come naturally to people. Miscommunication is the leading cause of breakups and can be avoided if you make sure that both partners know how to express their thoughts and know how to receive and process those thoughts. It is not enough for one party to know how to communicate how they feel, the other party has to be able to receive and process those emotions. A psychologist will work on effective and meaningful communication skills to make sure couples are able to have difficult conversations without spiralling out of control.
This leads right to another benefit, which is improved empathy in your relationship. People often grow angry because they don’t understand, but when you learn to communicate in a clear fashion to your partner you give them the chance to see your perspective. This often leads to a deeper sense of empathy which benefits both parties in a relationship.
Finally, couples therapy led by a trained psychologist creates a safe space for partners to talk about their issues. The psychologist is a neutral party who works hard to guide the discussion that will help each partner feel heard and valued. Everything about the session is confidential, making a therapy session a great tool for discussing tougher topics in a non-threatening manner.
