15 Feb What Scenarios Can Be Addressed With Marriage Counseling?
Posted at 2:50 pm in Couples Therapy by jlbworks
Did you know that 44% of couples seek marriage counseling in the United States even before they tie the knot? While you don’t have to seek couples counseling before you get married, you may want to introduce therapy into your relationship in order to maintain a healthy marriage.
All couples experience some form of conflict— and if someone says they don’t, then they’re probably in denial. For some couples, money is a big stressor in their marriage. For others it could be handling an infidelity or big life transition. Any little thing can create a crack in the foundation of your marriage if left unresolved or uncommunicated.
With the help of an unbiased third party counselor, you and your partner can seek the healthy communicative space you’ve been looking for.
Here are some of the top 6 scenarios that can be addressed with marriage counseling:
- Growing Apart
- Clashing About Money
- Handling an Infidelity
- Unproductive Arguments
- Big Life Transitions
- Lack Luster Sex Life
Growing Apart
After years of marriage, and often the birth of your children, a marriage can tend to feel more like living with a lifelong roommate rather than a partner. If you and your partner are beginning to feel as though you’re growing apart, or maybe you’ve forgotten why you fell in love in the first place, marriage counseling could be your next step.
A certified marriage and family therapist can help you and your partner deal with these blockages in your relationship. Couples therapists are meant to create open, safe spaces for partners to explore all their marriage still has to offer— strengths, weaknesses and all in between.
Clashing About Money
Whether you’re a married couple in your late 60’s experiencing health related money issues, or a couple in your early 30’s learning to manage marriage with children— couples counseling can help you get a handle on all your turbulent emotions surrounding cash.
Therapy can help patients understand their relationship with money and how it can shape their thoughts. Oftentimes, the way we view and handle finances is linked to past experiences and childhood. If your experiences differ from that of your partner’s, you may have a harder time dealing with money related issues in your marriage. Seeking counseling can help you get a jumpstart on these issues before any major decisions are made or any arguments continue.
Looking to understand the inner workings of your spouse? Connect with Dr. Phil Chanin today!
Handling an Infidelity
Infidelity can mean many different things to many different people. If you haven’t had this discussion with your partner, you may want to do so before any chance of infidelity occurs. However, if you or your spouse has already been involved in an affair, you may want to seek marriage counseling services to repair the damage or create a resolution plan.
Infidelity affects about 20-25% of marriages, but these breaches of trust don’t have to be the end of your relationship. With marriage counseling, you and your partner can lay everything out on the table to regain trust and reignite that spark in your own relationship.
Unproductive Arguments
In every relationship, you’re going to experience little unproductive arguments. That’s what comes with being two different human beings who have experienced two different upbringings and lives. While arguing in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing, it can turn sour quick when those disagreements turn into unhealthy screaming matches, or inflammatory situations.
We all have different ways of handling conflict, and if you’re not someone who thrives in confrontational settings, marriage counseling could benefit your relationship. Couples therapy can teach you and your partner to diffuse disagreements in a healthy, respectful way.
Big Life Transitions
Even if you and your partner seemingly have no present issues, big life transitions could spin up future pain points. This could be anything from caring for an ill parent, big career changes, or a family relocation. Nurturing your marriage during times such as these can prove to be so influential.
In seeking a couples therapist, you and your partner can troubleshoot areas of friction as they come in a safe, healthy environment. Often, having the ear of a third party professional can give you the reassurance you need in your relationship and keep you and your partner on top of your emotions.
Lack Luster Sex Life
Often, discussing intimacy can be a pain point for many couples. When seeking marriage counseling, your therapist can help guide the conversation so you and your partner feel connected and on the same page.
Depending on where you’re at in your marriage, your sex life could look a little different from where it once was. It’s important to recognize that little intimacies like an occasional peck on the cheek, listening to your partner’s stories, or small gestures of kindness, can be just as important in feeling connected to your partner.
Medical issues, changes in your body, and even your kids can make having sex with your partner difficult. In working with a marriage counselor, you and your partner can ensure you’re on the same page and ready to tackle intimacy in whatever way needed.
Dr. Phil Chanin’s work in couples therapy and marriage counseling utilizes the theory and practices of Imago Relationship Therapy (IRT), developed by Harville Hendrix. Imago theory helps to explain how the choices we make, in whom we fall in love with, almost guarantee that we will eventually find ourselves in difficult and painful power struggles with our partners.