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ENTITY shares some couples therapy benefits.

Half of all marriages fail in the first seven years, according to Dr. Gottman, a world-renowned psychologist and founder of The Gottman Institute, a research-based approach to maintaining and studying healthy relationships.

But how do you avoid being in the failing half?

The Gottman Method stresses the importance of timing when it comes to marriage counseling, especially when “the average couple waits six years before seeking professional help.” And though many people are averse to couples therapy, it may actually be the best way to prevent problems that arise in most relationship. 

If you’ve been going back and forth about whether or not to give it a go, here are five ways couples therapy will benefit your life.

ENTITY shares the benefits of couples therapy.

1 Improve Your Communication

Therapists can act as coaches for people to learn new skills to communicate effectively. For example, a couple might be instructed to take turns actively listening to one another, to promote understanding and empathy behavioral techniques.

2 Improve Your Understanding of Each other

One type of couples therapy technique includes the Gottman Methodwhich uses a nine-step process to help people reach a greater understanding of each other’s needs. 

The process uses something called “love maps” to outline a person’s psychological world, which includes their stresses,  joys, goals and history. When each person better understands their partner’s love map, they can more easily navigate through the challenges that come up in their relationship.

3 Manage an issue before it erupts

ENTITY shar.es the benefits of couples therapy.

This Gottman Method mentioned previously stresses the importance of “conflict management rather than conflict resolution.” In other words, a therapist can assist you with identifying unhealthy patterns in your behavior and correct those patterns with techniques to improve the everyday interactions between a couple.

For example, a counselor will observe the interactions between a couple and point out subtle ways to improve the way a situation or an argument gets handled. This process can help you take a step back and view your relationship more objectively. Therapists also help ensure their clients are not behaving in a way that causes further “physical or psychological damage to their partner,” according to Psychology Today.

Good counseling helps you recognize your own cognitive thought process and explains the “why” behind your behavior.

4 Confront your feelings

ENTITY shares the benefits of couples therapy.

Everyone has feelings, but some people are much better at expressing them than others. Relationship counseling can help a person who typically avoids expressing emotions in a relationship be more open.

People often times will forget what you said, forget what you did, but they never forget how you made them feel.

5 Take accountability in your relationship

Sometimes when a couple has ongoing issues, it’s easy for both people to get caught up in the blame game, which doesn’t solve any problems. And at the end of the day, it doesn’t do any good for anyone except cause more heartache.

A good couples therapist will encourage both partners to take ownership and accountability for their actions, otherwise the problems continue and no progress is made in the right direction. This promotes a healthier and more balanced dynamic. It also provides an opportunity for each person to be more sensitive to their partners feelings, therefore creating a more harmonious relationship as they move forward in life.

Time is always a good barometer as well, because as we grow older we realize that we still have a lot to learn. And it doesn’t hurt to ask someone for help along the way.

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