Getting married is one of the most exciting times of a couple’s life. For many, it means you get to spend the rest of your life with your best friend. But fast forward a few years on and you may begin to see some signs that your marriage is in trouble. In this case, people often seek couples therapy Melbourne therapists and other experts provide.
If you’ve never been to therapy before, you may feel apprehensive about whether you can speak openly to a stranger about your marital problems. But it’s worth pushing through the awkwardness. Eventually, you can experience many benefits from this type of therapy that may strengthen your bond with your partner.
Source: gottman.com
Contents
1. Conflict Resolution
Although you’ve known and lived with your partner for many years, you may struggle to resolve conflicts. It’s not uncommon to fully disagree with your partner on certain topics like politics or even how to raise children. The problem comes when you can’t resolve these conflicts and they keep coming up during arguments.
A therapist is skilled in helping married couples resolve their differences more constructively. You and your partner will learn how to solve problems without raising your voices or belittling one another. With the right guidance, you both can work through life’s challenges successfully.
2. Building Trust
In some instances, there may have been a situation where you and your partner lost trust in one another. Or you have a partner who is insecure and finds it difficult to trust you. This can cause resentment and bitterness in the relationship which can also lead to unnecessary arguments.
When you seek therapy you can begin to pinpoint where the distrust is coming from. Sometimes it can be due to past childhood traumas or relationships that were unsuccessful. During your sessions, you may begin to see where the problems lie and how to fix them in a healthy way.
Source: positivepsychology.com
3. Helping You Understand Your Partner Better
Not understanding your partner can lead to arguments and feelings of hopelessness. You may also feel that your partner isn’t listening to you which causes frustration. In fact, the majority of divorces occur because of miscommunication.
On the other hand, some people find it difficult to express how they feel when they’re under extreme stress. One of the biggest advantages of couples therapy is that you’ll learn the most effective ways to talk to one another and understand each other, especially if you need support.
4. Eliminating Dysfunctional Behaviour
Dysfunctional behaviour in marriage includes:
- Boundary infringements
- Emotional abuse
- Frustration
- Playing the blame game
- Feeling irritated by your partner’s presence
- Using ways to escape the house and responsibilities
With the proper guidance, you’ll begin to see your faults as well as those of your partner. You can talk about what causes these behaviours, so you can find ways to eliminate them. These behaviours sometimes happen because the person doesn’t know how to deal with their own emotions.
When you begin to understand what the cause is, you will feel less likely to get angry and find ways to solve the problem.
Source: thedailybeast.com
5. Preventing Future Problems
Another reason why couples get divorced is because some relationship problems keep occurring. Someone in the marriage is bound to get tired of dealing with the same negative situations, and so they decide to leave.
In couples therapy, you’ll learn how to develop healthy habits and routines. What’s more, you’ll be taught how to recognise certain cues so you can prevent past problems from cropping up. For example, in the past, your partner may have broken items in the house out of anger. You can both learn to prevent an argument from escalating so that it doesn’t get to that point.
You can also start to recognise signs that your partner is going through a stressful time so you can work together to manage the challenging time.
6. Creating a Safe Space to Talk
Do you and your spouse shout at each other during arguments? This is something that should never happen in a relationship because it can cause a communication barrier. You both won’t want to talk to each other, simply to avoid that type of conflict.
During couples therapy, you and your partner will have a safe space to talk about your feelings and frustrations. The therapist can mediate and guide you in being honest, but not letting emotions get the better of you.
In such an environment you can open up to each other without feeling anxious about confrontations.
Source: threepointsrelationships.com
7. Learning Effective Coping Skills
For some people, the best coping skill when fighting with their partner is to leave the house and go to a bar to drown their sorrows. Others decide to give their partners the silent treatment. Both of these coping mechanisms can have a negative impact on your family because conflicts aren’t being solved.
When you attend couples therapy you’ll begin to learn healthy and effective coping skills that will bring you and your partner closer together. These include establishing and maintaining boundaries or relaxation strategies like meditation.
Final Thoughts
If you’re struggling to reconnect with your partner, then consider couples therapy so you can improve communication, develop healthy coping skills, and manage stress effectively. You’ll experience many life-changing benefits from couples therapy that will impact many aspects of your lives.
