At Pymble Psychology, we don’t just help individuals we can also help relationships. Relationships are wonderful things, they allow us to have someone who we can love and support and allows us to feel loved and supported. But sometimes, when we are in a relationship we might not feel loved and supported and this can make us feel horrible. Seeing a relationship therapist can help you and your partner through this difficulty to get you back to seeing the wonderfulness of relationships.
What is Couple/Relationship counselling?
Relationship counselling, commonly called couples counselling is therapy which is aimed at helping people in a relationship work together to help strengthen and improve their relationships with each other. You can come and see a therapist by yourself or with your partner to discuss your relationship.
What happens during relationship/couples counselling?
During the first session, the therapist will spend time gathering information about your relationship including your relationship story (how long you have been together, how you meet, married/separated/engaged, living together, what attracted you to each other etc), they will ask about what you want to get out of the counselling and what would you like to work on. Sessions two and onwards will work to achieving your goals and addressing the concerns you raised in the first session.
Why do people attend relationship/couples counselling?
People attend relationship counselling for several reasons, some of the common reasons include:
• Communication issues – Lack of communication, ineffective communication styles
• Conflict resolution skills – unable to resolve arguments, unable to discuss something without arguing
• Staying together after an affair
• Rebuilding trust
• Pre-marital counselling
• Combining families (step-parenting, step siblings etc)
• Intimacy – Physical and emotional intimacy
• Desire discrepancies
• Separation counselling – how to separate and still be friends
What are some signs that your relationship may not be as strong as it could be?
• You and/or your partner are not feeling happy
• Having arguments regularly that do not get resolved
• You’re spending less time together
• You have had thoughts about an affair or to leave the relationship
• You feel like you’re not being heard
• Previous signs of intimacy and love are gone or diminished
When should we see a couples counsellor?
Short answer is sooner rather than later. Long answer, People often see couples therapy as the last resort in saving their relationship but often the tension and frustration has built up so much one or both people don’t want to save their relationship and they are just going through the motions. The longer that an issue or concern has been present and not dealt with the longer and hard it is to get resolved. To put simply, if you have been unhappy for 10 years, an hour of couples therapy isn’t going to resolve your feelings.