No one enters a relationship with a blank slate. Your family, upbringing, exes, and personal habits all influence the path your love life takes. Relationship therapists and counselors can help couples who are going through a difficult time or just need help getting over a short-term issue.
Couples therapy or counseling can help you grow closer as a couple. Call our office today to work with a mental health professional from Thriveworks Counseling in Hattiesburg, MS.
Why Do People Choose Couples Therapy?
Your connections with loved ones can play a significant role in your mental health, and consulting a professional counselor is one way to ensure those bonds make you happy. Many couples and married people benefit from speaking with a licensed marriage and family therapist or counselor about their relationships.
Common reasons people reach out to a mental health professional include:
- Financial problems
- Trust issues
- Infidelity
- Poor communication
- Coping with shared grief or loss
- Opposing views
- Behavioral or emotional problems in children
- Conflicting parenting styles
- Recurring disagreements
- Divorce or separation
- Intimacy issues
Marriage and family therapy is not reserved for people who get into screaming matches about the dishes. In fact, happy couples may find that practicing intentional therapy techniques improves their relationships.
The Advantages of Working with a Relationship Counselor
Couples therapists and counselors are trained to identify critical concerns in relationships and guide couples as they resolve conflict. Every relationship is unique, so a licensed mental health professional will want to get to know both of you better before laying out a plan geared towards personal growth.
Some common therapeutic methods for couples include:
- The Gottman Method: This practice addresses four major relationship issues: defensiveness, stonewalling, criticism, and contempt. By identifying them, the Gottman Method aims to make couples more honest and considerate with one another.
- Emotionally focused therapy: EFT aims to identify and alter destructive patterns in a relationship that result in repetitive conflicts. It may help with the formation of secure emotional bonds.
- Imago Relationship Therapy (IRT): This form of therapy stresses the connection between your childhood and current relationships. IRT can also improve empathy and understanding by bringing your individual mental health into the conversation.
- Reflective listening: This technique centers on “I” statements, in which a person poses each of their concerns as “I feel X when you do Y” instead of “You are horrible for doing Y.” Reflective listening prevents defensiveness and allows couples to listen to each other without playing “the blame game.”
Skilled, compassionate counselors from Thriveworks can create a safe space for your relationship and act as neutral third parties to your disputes. Call our office today if you think relationship counseling sessions are suitable for you.
Schedule Couples Therapy at Thriveworks in Hattiesburg, MS
If you and your partner are considering couples counseling, reach out to Thriveworks. Our therapists in Hattiesburg, MS, are prepared to help, and we offer sessions at convenient times, including weekday, evening, and weekend appointments.
Thriveworks Counseling is proud to accept many different forms of health insurance. Additionally, when life gets in the way, rescheduling appointments is simple.
Other great benefits of becoming a Thriveworks Counseling client include:
- Virtual therapy opportunities through video chat
- New clients can get started quickly — sometimes within the same week of scheduling
- Evening and weekend session options
- And much more!
Schedule a session today in Hattiesburg, MS by calling, or booking an appointment. We can’t wait to help you and your partner thrive.
