Many people believe that couples therapy is only for couples who argue all the time. However, counseling works for every kind of couple, even those who aren’t facing serious communication problems.
Allow a counselor to guide you toward a happier, fulfilling marriage. They’ll work with you to diffuse minor conflicts and build trust.
To understand why couples therapy is useful for even content couples, keep reading.
1. Couples Therapy Improves Communication
You may not experience relationship problems. However, that doesn’t mean your marital communication is perfect. One of the main benefits of counseling is that it allows you to express your thoughts and feelings openly.
Daily life can make good communication hard to achieve. Sometimes, there isn’t time to address an issue or sit down and have an honest talk. By taking the time to see a couples counselor, you make communication a priority.
A couples counselor will help develop your communication. If you have repressed feelings about an area of your marriage, or won’t acknowledge certain emotions, they will help you work through this. Whether you are dealing with conflict or simply want to build better communication, you’ll always be welcome in a counselor’s office.
2. It Opens Up a Safe Space
A therapy office is a completely safe space to discuss your feelings without judgment. Your therapist follows a strict code of conduct that prevents them from talking about your marriage outside of their office.
Not every couple has the opportunity to talk things through in a safe, secure environment. Doing so prevents secret-keeping, which can cause mistrust and suspicion in a marriage.
When you feel emotionally, mentally, and physically safe, you are more open and allow yourself to be vulnerable. Vulnerability is important in a marriage. It lets you be honest about your feelings.
Your partner will have the same experience through working with a couples therapist. Through professional guidance, they get the chance to be open and honest with you. More love and trust will build between you both as a result.
3. It Helps Work on Intimacy Issues
Even content couples can have intimacy issues and struggle to be open about intimacy. This is a complex issue that not everyone has a positive experience dealing with. By being open about it, you can overcome any problems and build more trust between you and your partner.
Intimacy issues extend to touching and gestures such as hugging. If one partner enjoys this and the other doesn’t, it can cause anger and judgment to slip into your marriage.
When you address feelings of intimacy, you help assuage doubt or guilt in your spouse. Your counselor can also offer practical advice to overcome intimacy problems by helping promote trust in your relationship.
4. Resolves Small Conflicts and Resentment
Perhaps the only thing that bothers you in your marriage is that your spouse never does the dishes. This is not a major problem, however, the resentment that might build surrounding these small issues is. One very healthy place to discuss them is in counseling.
You never have to worry that your counselor will laugh at you or not take your concern seriously. They are professionally trained and fully understand that small issues in a marriage can carry a huge weight.
If you and your spouse have had a small argument or confrontation, you should discuss this with your counselor. Even minor conflicts can leave you feeling blindsided and hurt, especially if you feel that you are not to blame. Resolving conflict, however small, is something your counselor can guide you through.
Your counselor will ask you to elaborate on how a small conflict makes you feel. They will then allow your partner to respond. Together, and with the guidance of your counselor, you’ll work through these feelings and come to a resolution that works for you both.
5. Offers Impartial Guidance
Your counselor cares about each couple that walks through their door. That’s why they can offer impartial advice and guidance to you and your spouse, whatever issue you’re facing in your marriage.
Some marital problems begin due to defensiveness. Defensiveness causes people to reject blame and to react in anger.
A counselor helps to relieve feelings of defensiveness so that you aren’t judging yourself. No one is perfect, and this is particularly true in a marriage. When you and your partner are both able to acknowledge your mistakes, you can healthily begin to move past them.
You and your partner also may benefit from individual sessions with your couples counselor, particularly at the start of your therapy. Individual sessions enable you to share things about yourself that you’d rather keep from your partner. Eventually, you can work towards sharing in a joint session.
Further Benefits of Couples Counseling
One further benefit of couples therapy is the opportunity to learn more about your partner. Perhaps there’s something they’ve wanted to open up about for a long time and have never felt able to. A counselor will help them discuss anything they’ve been keeping from you and help them deal with your natural responses and vice versa.
You’ll also be able to see any marital issues from the other’s perspective through counseling. This is crucial in understanding your spouse’s reactions and feelings. It helps to build empathy so that you both get the chance to heal and grow in your relationship.
Build Empathy With Couples Therapy in Tustin, CA
Couples therapy creates an open space where you can share your feelings free of judgment. A counselor can help you find hidden resentment or anger in your relationship and resolve these feelings before they become problematic.
A professional counselor will make you feel welcome and completely free to discuss any marital concerns. You should never feel that any topic is off-limits while you and your spouse are in session.
If you’d like to explore the many kinds of family counseling available to you, consider contacting one of our experts today.
Medical Article Sources:
When Is It Time to Seek Marriage Counseling, https://psychcentral.com/health/when-to-seek-marriage-counseling
25 Best Couples Therapy Techniques, Exercises, and Activities to Try, https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/therapy-for-couples
