All relationships have their ups and downs. After all, they involve two individuals with their own needs and desires, their own hopes and expectations, and their own communicative skills and abilities to express their feelings. As such, it often takes more than just love to sustain and enrich a relationship.
If you’re going through a rough patch in your relationship – or if you simply want to take your commitment to a stronger level – you should consider the benefits of couples counseling.
While couples counseling is designed to focus on improving relationship satisfaction and resolving conflict between couples, its overarching goal is to help build a healthier and enduring bond between you and your partner.
When to Seek Couples Therapy
Here are five signs that it may be time for you and your partner to meet with a couples therapist:
1. You’re Having Trust Issues With your Partner.
Trust is a fundamental component of any relationship – especially a committed relationship. However, a lack of trust often indicates there is a greater issue – for example, lying, suspicion, or infidelity – affecting your relationship that needs to be addressed with the help of a counselor.
2. You’re Struggling to Communicate with Each Other.
Not only is clear communication vital to your relationship, but it can also strengthen the bond between you and your partner. The problem is that each individual communicates in their own way, which can occasionally if not often, result in misunderstandings. For example, instead of coming right out and saying what you mean, you might try to avoid confrontation by saying what you think your partner wants to hear. A couples therapist can help you and your partner learn how to express your individual needs and desires in a more precise yet constructive manner.
3. You’re Dealing with a Traumatic Experience that is Affecting your Relationship.
Despite the fact that it is no one’s fault, trauma can take a toll on even the strongest relationships. The grief and withdrawal that often follow a traumatic experience can result in a host of unhealthy emotions, including fear, anger, and resentment. A couples therapist can help you and your partner learn to cope together and come out stronger after having shared the experience.
4. You No Longer Feel Like You’re a Team.
In a healthy relationship, two individuals work together to achieve common goals and support each other in times of need. It also means sharing important experiences, both good and bad, and taking advantage of opportunities – together. If a sense of unity is missing from a relationship, the situation is often exacerbated when one or both partners tend to become aloof or non-communicative. Couples therapy provides a means of working toward reestablishing pre-existing bonds between you and your partner.
5. You’re Considering Marriage or Divorce.
If you and your significant other are thinking about tying the knot, relationship counseling can help you prepare for the challenges that are inevitable in a marriage and help strengthen the bond between the two of you. Conversely, if your marriage is in jeopardy for whatever reason, a couples therapist can help you and your partner get to the core of your issues, seek to resolve them, and possibly come away with a stronger and mutually fulfilling relationship.
Couples Counseling in Atlanta and Alpharetta, Georgia
At Atlanta Specialized Care, our team of board-certified counselors offers professional counseling services to address a wide range of social and communication challenges and family dynamics.
Counseling has helped millions of couples realize more rewarding relationships. To learn more about couples counseling or to request an appointment at our office, please call Atlanta Specialized Care at (770) 815-6853, or arrange a consultation online by using our interactive appointment request form.
