Weekly couples therapy with an experienced clinician provides you and your spouse a peaceful and supportive space to discuss your relationship and make it stronger. Therapy isn’t limited to individual adult therapy or child therapy. It can be tailored for couples working through minor and major arguments, and is actually one of the greatest gifts a newly wed couple can receive. This is because all relationships, regardless if they are familial, platonic or romantic can become stronger with guided communication.
Here are three signs you and your spouse will benefit from couples therapy, whether onsite or through telehealth:
1. Regular communication frequently become arguments
All relationships hit speed bumps at some point. These are small or minor disagreements that can be overcome relatively easily, such as disagreeing on where to grab dinner, arguing over running late, or accidentally dropping an expensive household item. On their own, these events are perfectly normal and once overcome, a relationship can proceed smoothly.
However, repeated speed bumps can cause a larger disturbance in a relationship. They can build tension until there’s an explosion of anger. They can also cause repeated spikes of tension, in which everyday communication becomes fraught with arguments that become more intense.
If your relationship has hit a bump road, take a deep breath because it can be overcome. The key is to find a safe space to unravel the arguments and expose the core of the conflict. With couples therapy, you’ll have professional guidance to work through all your speed bumps.
2. Your changing life is affecting your relationship
Life is always in motion, but sometimes it can feel the same. You might enjoy that if your relationship is in a good space with you coasting through on a cloud of happiness. However, change can hit suddenly and push your life and relationship onto a bumpy road.
Changes can come from any direction and cause any level of tension. Even small changes can snowball tension into an avalanche of emotional outbursts. Such changes can be moving homes, having kids and figuring out how to make it as a dual-career couple, adopting pets, as well as adapting to lifestyle changes such as new medications or health conditions. These changes have a unique impact on married partners, and can reveal long-held tension that was hiding under the surface, waiting to be drawn out.
You and your spouse don’t have to approach these issues alone. With a couples therapist, you can be guided down a clear path to a stronger marriage.
3. Your relationship has felt off for some time
You don’t need to know what’s off about your marriage to initiate couples therapy. The general feeling that something isn’t right often means you just haven’t identified the cause. A therapist can get you to that knowledge before the tension expands, giving you more time to understand your relationship and how you can strengthen it.
Couples therapy doesn’t have to be a one month or one year journey
For some couples, therapy is ongoing. Some might drop in occasionally, when they need assistance navigating a particularly difficult situation. You and your spouse will find that with time, you become experts with the personalized tools provided during therapy, and your marriage will blossom ever stronger.