Couples face unique challenges that can benefit from the guided conversation and tools offered by a professional counselor. Sometimes these challenges are small things that keep coming up. Other times they are larger issues that go deeper. Whatever situation in which you find yourself, there is help available.
Couples counseling offers a neutral party to help you and your partner through whatever you are facing so you can understand one another and grow closer. The best part of couples counseling is the ability to help you shape your relationship now, so you can have a strong foundation in the future.
Get connected with a Christian Counselor
Please contact our reception team at
(469) 333-6163
Couples counseling is a type of psychotherapy that specializes in working with couples. Licensed counselors such as psychologists, social workers, or licensed family and marriage counselors work with the couple as a trained, neutral party to help them with whatever issues they are facing as a couple.
Talk therapy is the predominant way to work together as the counselor and couple address issues between the couple to foster better understanding and communication so the couple can move forward in a healthy way together.
Many couples come to couples counseling for a specific issue in which they feel stuck, However, there are many reasons for pursuing counseling together. Whatever you are facing will be addressed with the counselor to meet your unique, individual needs.
Couples counseling is for couples. This could mean people that are seriously dating all the way through preparing for marriage. There are even some specific situations that can benefit from couples counseling.
Dating
Dating couples face unique issues as they are getting to know one another. While counseling for a newly dating couple is likely unnecessary, couples that have been dating for some time can benefit from talking to a counselor about issues in their relationship.
Long Distance
Couples in a long-distance relationship have unique needs. Understanding how to communicate well and trust one another are key elements of making long-distance relationships stronger. A counselor can help both parties through this together. Online meeting options such as Zoom offer opportunities to meet with the counselor together.
Engagement
When a couple gets engaged, it is important to make sure they are moving forward together. Ensuring you have a deep understanding of one another as well as dealing with any issues now will benefit your relationship down the road.
Pre-Marital or Preparing for Marriage
This season of preparing for marriage involves more than wedding planning. Setting a firm foundation will help you work through differences, come up with compromises, and understand one another better so that your marriage starts stronger. Topics such as intimacy, family, responsibilities, faith, work arrangements, and living arrangements are often discussed to help the couple agree on how they want to function together.
Marriage counseling is specific to the issues a married couple is facing. While there may be similarities between couples counseling and marriage counseling, they have some differences.
Couples counseling focuses on issues before you get married. These are often more general or specific to getting to know one another and how to merge your ideas and make compromises.
Marriage counseling focuses on issues after you get married. These can be general but often focus on conflicts or struggles that a couple is dealing with. Sometimes this is connected to specific topics such as finances or parenting.
Very similar, both types of counseling offer you the help you need for the season of life you are in now.
The goal of couples counseling is primarily to address compatibility. Looking at how you and your partner connect and how your life philosophies work together are common themes. Some of the topics relating to this include:
- Faith
- Intimacy
- Expectations
- Finances
- Living arrangements
- Responsibilities
- Work plans
- Handling disagreements
- Family planning
- Extended family
Sometimes there are specific issues with which a couple is dealing, even in the early stages of a relationship. Couples counseling can help work through these things as well. Examples include:
- Past decisions
- Sexual history
- Previous trauma
- Blending families
- Role of a dating partner with current children
- Infidelity
- Faith differences
- Outside relationships (especially with the opposite sex)
While some may think dating couples don’t need counseling, it can be a good way to work through things productively before they become problems.
Additionally, couples counseling can help a couple decide if they are a good match for one another. Looking at these questions and addressing them together with a counselor can help you decide if you want the same things in life, if your personalities match for more than just a date night, and if you can communicate about challenging topics. Some couples discover they are not a good fit. Learning this while dating can save years of struggle and potential complications with marriage and family down the road.
Ultimately, couples counseling seeks to help both people learn more about themselves and how they fit together as a couple, whether that is temporarily or for a longer commitment.
Couples counseling involves both partners as well as the trained counselor. Typically, they meet for fifty-minute to one-hour sessions every week. Because of the typically temporary nature of dating or engagement, couples counseling is usually short-term, often consisting of no more than twelve sessions. Specific premarital counseling may be even shorter, with just four to six sessions.
When you meet at the counselor’s office, you will typically discover a comfortable space where everyone can sit and talk. Sometimes sessions are done virtually to accommodate schedules or where people live. No matter where you meet, the goal is for everyone to be comfortable.
The counselor will often ask questions to guide the discussion. Ultimately, the goal is for the couple to talk with one another, with the counselor merely guiding them with effective questions and tools to communicate well. Sometimes the counselor will utilize activities or exercises that encourage both partners to express themselves. These can be done in the office or sometimes strategies to be used at home between sessions.
The counselor will work to help each person feel comfortable and meet their goals of creating a healthier relationship together.
You’re off to a great start. Now that you understand what couples counseling is, you can move forward.
First, learn more about our practice and our counselors. You can find information on the website about each of us and our specialties.
Next, talk to your partner. Share what you’ve learned and express why you would like to go to counseling together. Make sure to communicate what your goals are and how you think counseling will help you as a couple. Then give your partner some time to learn more and think about it. Sometimes we are excited to get started, but our partner needs a little time to warm up to the idea. Consider talking to your partner and saying, “How about if you take time to learn more and we can talk about it again in a week.”
Set up an initial appointment. Reach out to our office to schedule your first appointment. When we meet, we will get to know one another and give you both the opportunity to ask any questions. From there we will talk about moving forward with your counseling.
Going to couples counseling is a very healthy approach to a better relationship. We are excited to help you and your partner grow in your relationship.
Get connected with a Christian Counselor
Please contact our reception team at
(469) 333-6163