Choosing A Couple Therapist

If you believe that your relationship could benefit from couples therapy or marriage counseling , how do you begin to find a good couples therapist? Where would you even begin looking? Here are some tips on finding a couples counselor:

Ask questions – When you speak to various therapists who might be right for your particular situation, ask them about their approach and what they think might help you with your issues.

Some therapists may offer short term counseling, while others might suggest long-term therapy. The style and length of treatment should be discussed at your initial consultation so you both understand what to expect from the therapist.

 

How Long Should You Take A Therapy

The answer to this question depends on how much progress you have made in therapy.

If you feel like the therapist has helped resolve some of your issues, make your communication better and given helpful advice then it isn’t necessarily a waste of time. The key here is ‘progress,’ so recognizing whether or not this has happened will be up to you. Most people see noticeable change within four to six months with their therapist. This may sound like a long time, but if something does happen between six and one year of therapy, you should see a major change.

If it’s been more than a year and you haven’t made any progress with your relationship woes, then why continue seeing the therapist? Even if you’ve only seen them for three months, but they helped you in one area of your life that has nothing to do with your relationship then it wasn’t waste of time. However, if all they did was talk about how bad things are between the two of you without offering alternatives or solutions, then continuing on would be fruitless.

 

The Benefits Of Relationship Therapy

Relationship therapy is for both people in the relationship. Its purpose is to help each partner understand how they contribute to relational problems and learn skills that will enable them to improve the quality of their emotional connection with each other. Relationship therapy can be one of the most helpful, rewarding experiences of your life.

Most relationship therapists believe that it takes two committed people working together as a team—each doing his or her part — to resolve problems in an intimate relationship. This approach has been shown to work time after time, but only if both members of the couple are willing to work hard and honestly on themselves …and on their relationship (Dattilio & Padesky).

Many couples find this challenging fun and enlightening; others may find it difficult and extremely painful. In any case, you must be willing to work as a team with your spouse as you bring problems to the therapist for discussion and resolution.

Many couples have found that they often feel helpless or hopeless about their ability to resolve ongoing conflicts or improve upon areas where they just aren’t satisfied with the relationship. They may believe that no matter what each partner does, the other person’s behavior never changes . Other partners may become disappointed because of unrealistic expectations they’ve developed from I create this expectation from watching television drama shows.