You and your partner have tried to work out the differences that have strained your relationship. The hard work has resulted in the proverbial dead end that closes far too many intimate relationships established by couples of all ages, from all backgrounds. Both of you have decided to try couples therapy to work out the differences. As the day of the first meeting fast approaches, you might be wondering what does a couples therapy session look like? Having an idea about what to expect can alleviate both of your concerns and dramatically reduce the stress of working out the problems encountered in your relationship.
Couples therapy is not just a one-and-done session that miraculously cures all that ails your intimate relationship. The process takes time and several sessions before both of you make inroads into healing the current relationship and then building a better one that lasts for years to come. Although each session is different, you can expect several of the same factors to emerge that make the sessions work well.
Both Partners Attend Sessions
At the core of failing intimate relationships is the lack of communication or communication that is delivered poorly at best. Couples therapy is about getting both partners back on track in the communication department. This means both partners attend each session to discuss issues that have previously received little attention because of a lack of communication. Although your therapist might request a session to meet with each partner individually for adult therapy, the goal of couples therapy is to get both partners back on track by communicating fears, concerns, and experiences in a non-judgmental environment.
Address Relationship Problems
Intimate relationships often fail because one or both partners refuse to discuss the sensitive issues that have torn a relationship apart. The experienced therapist from Newport Beach Family Development Center who oversees your therapy sessions wants to discover the primary issues that have caused stress to develop in your relationship. Both partners must express honest answers to the questions posed by the therapist, as well as describe how they want to mend the broken bond that has developed over time.
Formal Setting, Relaxed Ambiance
One of the most frequently cited reasons why partners refuse to attend couples therapy sessions is the fear of losing the familiarity of the comfortable ambiance created in the home environment. Although couples therapists do not design the same type of office where partners sit and discuss relationship issues, you can expect the office of your couples therapist to exude a welcoming, home-like ambiance that encourages input from both partners.
Setting Goals
Your couples therapist is not there to solve your relationship problems. Instead, couples therapy is all about both partners acknowledging the issues that have split them apart and then coming up with solutions to resolve the differences that have soured the relationship. This involves setting attainable goals that both partners agree to achieve. The goals set can include behavior modifications, such as learning how to deal with stress and negative emotions, as well as life-altering changes such as making a career move that frees up more time for both partners to spend time together.
Building Trust is the Key
Repairing a broken relationship takes hard work to redevelop the trust once built as the foundation of a strong intimate relationship. Your couples therapist will encourage both partners to share honest insights into how to reestablish the trust that formed the foundation of the relationship that originally brought them together.
This means letting yourself speak with honesty and a degree of vulnerability to achieve the goals sought when attending every couples therapy session.