Couples Counseling

Does Your Relationship Or Marriage Need A Refreshed Perspective?

External pressures may have also put increased strain on your marriage or relationship. Perhaps conflict with in-laws or pressures mounting with aging parents have brought your partnership to a crossroads. Maybe differences in parenting styles have caused a rift in your marriage. 

Do you find yourself thinking that if your partner could be more understanding and less defensive, then you both could communicate more effectively? 

So many marital issues and relationship problems stem from ineffective communication, yet couples counseling offers the potential of deeper insight about your relationship, promoting further connection and mutual respect between you and your partner.   

All Couples Struggle With Trying To Meet Their Own and Each Other’s Expectations

Every single couple faces their own unique set of relationship issues. Even the most seemingly happy marriages struggle with conflict and misunderstanding from time to time. It’s inevitable that disappointment and pain will occur within a relationship, but how those disagreements are communicated, managed, and resolved is what separates healthy partnerships from unhealthy ones. 

Oftentimes, relationships deteriorate because of unrealistic expectations. Whether those expectations stem from rigid gender roles, overly simplified TV depictions of romance, or an increasingly prevalent social media culture that presents a skewed view of reality, couples suffer when they create impossible standards for themselves and each other. 

In addition, infidelity continues to be a common issue affecting many marriages and long-term relationships. Technology has introduced so many avenues for extramarital behavior between hookup apps, pornography channels, and social media sites that can lead to reconnecting with old flings or opportunities for emotional infidelity. And while cheating is relatively prominent, there is a shame associated with not being able to preserve the appearances of a family and a stigma attached to seeking professional help for your marriage.

If walls have been built up between you and your partner, it’s no wonder that you have difficulty hearing one another! You may feel ashamed of or disappointed in yourself and your relationship because you can’t work things out on your own. Yet, issues that go unsettled eventually fester, causing further tension and disconnect. 

The truth is that no resolution can be made in a space of shame. A neutral, nonjudgmental, and supportive environment is necessary for helping your relationship to find common ground. And that is precisely the environment we cultivate at Focus Counseling. 

Marriage Counseling Can Provide Clarity About Your Relationship

Your relationship is its own living organism, and by seeking therapy for your marriage, you are tending to the vitality of your partnership. Couples counseling gives you the opportunity to hear each other in a new way and develop the tools needed for effective communication and managing emotional distress. 

Counseling sessions are a safe place to explore your feelings and concerns with the guidance of an objective and unbiased professional. Throughout the process, you and your partner will be given the opportunity to examine the strengths of your relationship and the individuals in it. As you begin to realize there is no shame in seeking help, you will also be given the chance to normalize the marital problems you’re facing so that your relationship can be more functional. By establishing the toolbox needed to build trust, reconnect, and increase emotional intimacy, you will be able to create long-term solutions for sustaining your marriage. 

Using the couples-oriented Gottman Method as a foundation, we will start the process of marriage counseling by obtaining a history of your relationship and the problems you are experiencing as a couple. From there, each of you will partake in a secure, individual session to address your marriage concerns one-on-one with your counselor. You will then reconvene in couples sessions to work together as a team and identify the central challenges facing your relationship and how to overcome them. 

Our Gottman-trained therapists rely on this scientifically validated approach to help couples gain a deeper sense of trust and intimacy as they begin the process of creating a future to which both partners can commit and feel excited about. This method, paired with behavioral and narrative techniques, will help you to better understand how to be accountable and mutually supportive in your marriage. 

Counseling can help you improve the health of yourself and your marriage. By gaining clarity around what is possible in your relationship, you and your partner will find new possibilities for understanding one another. Marriage therapy at Focus Counseling can offer a fresh perspective on your relationship so that you can embark on a bright future—together. 

Maybe you are considering couples Therapy, but you still have concerns…

I am not sure that I even want to stay in my marriage/relationship. 

Ambivalence is okay, and our counselors are not here to try and change your mind or coax you into staying in a relationship that isn’t meeting your needs. The purpose of counseling is not to force you to stay but rather to give you clarity on yourself and your relationship behaviors. We understand that some relationships need to end, but we also believe in giving your relationship a chance to find light and perspective. 

I am concerned about the cost of marriage/couples counseling. 

While we ordinarily take insurance, plans don’t typically cover couples therapy. Thus, we encourage you to view counseling as an investment in yourself and your relationship. By investing time and money now, you are setting yourself up for a successful future both in your marriage and as an individual. 

How long does marriage/couples counseling take?

Each relationship has different issues and needs. Therefore, the length of your time in session will be hugely dependent on the central conflicts and communication issues that exist in your marriage, as well as the degree of commitment you bring to the process. If you invest the energy needed to improve your partnership both in and out of session, you and your significant other may be surprised by how quickly you see positive results and resolution.

Explore New Ways To Connect With Your Partner Through Couples Counseling