How can counselling for couples help?
When we have been in a relationship or marriage for a long time it can be easy to fall into a trap of not listening to the other person or not communicating our needs clearly. Sometimes talking to someone with no connection to yourself or your partner is all it takes for you to gain perspective. What couples counselling offers here is the chance to speak to someone with no preconceived notions of who you are as a couple, with the added bonus of having skills and training behind them to guide you through your concerns.
The overall aim of couples counselling is to help you do the following:
Understand how external factors such as family values, religion, lifestyle and culture affect your relationship.
Reflect on the past and how it operates in the present.
Communicate in a more constructive way.
Learn why arguments escalate.
Negotiate and resolve conflicts where possible.
As your counselling sessions progress, you and your partner may find a way of overcoming your problems, or you may decide it is time to part ways. Either way, hopefully counselling will offer you the space to grow and decide what you would like the future to hold for both of you.