3 Ways Individual Counseling Can Help Your Marriage

Even happily married couples can face relationship challenges along the way. When this happens, you and your partner can either try to deal with things alone and work through your issues without help from an outside source, or you can seek the guidance of a trained and experienced marriage counselor.

While some couples feel their problems should be kept private, many more are finding the value of seeking help from an impartial and nonjudgmental third party.

Here are 3 ways individual counseling can help your marriage:

1. Identifying Behavioral Patterns

Most of us are aware of our partner’s behaviors but unaware of our own. Many challenges couples face are a result of the patterns between them. When you only see half (or less) of the dysfunctional patterns, the problems in the marriage can seem confusing and overwhelming.

A therapist is trained to help you recognize your own negative patterns and how they manifest in your relationship. The result is both partners are empowered and able to take a step back during conflicts as they occur, preventing escalation.

As a bonus, a therapist can also point out the strengths and resources they find in your relationship so you can leverage and learn how to nourish them.

2. Change at the Root Level

Once your therapist has helped you identify negative patterns, they can then help you understand why they are happening and assist you in changing them. Most behavioral patterns are formed and ingrained when we are very young – before we become self-aware and before we’ve met our significant others.

Understanding why your partner reacts a certain way can create empathy and help communication. Once you’ve laid this solid foundation, your therapist can give you specific adjustments that can change your relationship for the better.

3. Deeper Intimacy

A therapist will tailor changes based on your unique dynamics as a couple, help you practice the necessary adjustments, and encourage you to remain attentive and consistent. The result is a deeper intimacy and a deeper understanding of each other with a renewed commitment to meet each other’s needs and desires.

While you may first feel embarrassed discussing marital problems in front of a stranger, ultimately a marriage counselor can bring you both to a more fulfilling phase of your partnership.

If you or a loved one is interested in exploring treatment, please contact me today. I would be happy to speak with you about how I may be able to help repair, nourish, and enrich the bond in your relationship.