In an era of high divorce rates, more American families are turning to marriage counseling. If you are in this situation and would like to know why you should consider marriage counseling with your spouse, then you have several good options. Many other options will only get you so far. One of the best reasons to seek professional counseling is that it can save your marriage. In fact, professional counseling can save marriages.
New methods to marriage counseling, such as Emotional-Focused Psychotherapy, or EFT, and the Gottman Method, are also achieving far better results than traditional counseling. EFT mainly uses a set of techniques geared toward calming a couple down during a heated discussion and defusing a potential fight. The success of couples counseling and several other factors leads to a drop in the divorce rate in the United States
For those in a long term relationship, marriage counseling with a therapist trained in the areas of addiction and substance abuse may be beneficial. Counseling sessions geared toward fixing the underlying problems that contributed to the problem in the first place can go a long way toward preventing divorce from becoming a reality. For many couples, simply talking through the problems is not enough. To truly heal a broken relationship, both partners must actively be working on it, rather than simply talking through the problem. During counseling sessions, both partners will learn new skills and habits for resolving conflicts.
During the counseling process, it is important to build trust and empathy between the partners. Without trust and empathy, the counseling process will be a waste of time. During therapy sessions, the therapist will help the couple to understand each other’s needs and wants more clearly. The therapist will also help the couple develop empathy for their partner’s feelings and frustrations. By building empathy, the partners become more likely to listen to each other and address their problems more constructively.
In the process of marriage counseling, therapists will teach both partners how to deal with stress and how to better communicate with one another. These therapists will teach individuals how to avoid escalating arguments or acting without thinking. In essence, these therapists will help couples grow and become more effective communicators. This will make the couples stronger as a couple and more comfortable working together in harmony.
Overall, marriage counseling with a trained therapist can have a great impact on couples who are struggling. Many couples who seek therapy experience a great sense of relief, especially in knowing that there is an honest and open dialogue regarding their relationship problems. A higher success rate is seen in people who go to marriage counseling sessions versus those who do not. For this reason, many feel that it is worth the money to pay for a therapist’s services.