Relationship issues can take many forms. Everyone who enters a partnership brings their personal tastes, opinions, values, and upbringing with them. Healthy relationships acknowledge and celebrate these differences. But differences can sometimes lead to tension.
Consider the following situations:
- Audre and Tiffany met through a mutual friend a few months ago. They both love bookstores, watching murder mysteries, and spending weekends at the beach. Audre wants Tiffany to move in with her, but Tiffany has been burned by a quickly evolving relationship in the past.
- The Paulsons have been married for twenty years. Friends and family think their relationship is perfect. But lately, the pair find themselves bickering constantly. Now that their son is off at college, they’re considering spending more time apart.
- Sam and Kyle both have kids from a previous relationship. They desperately want to get married, but Sam’s youngest daughter acts out whenever they spend family time together.
These couples have unique experiences, but one thing is true for all of them: they’re facing a turning point in their relationship. Negotiating these challenges could be easier if they consulted a mental health professional familiar with strategies that resolve conflict, strengthen relationships, and bridge communication gaps.
Do you need help nurturing your relationship? Consider working with a marriage and family counselor from Thriveworks Counseling in San Jose, CA. Call our office today to get started.
Reasons People Meet With Relationship Counselors
Couples therapy or counseling can help with a myriad of issues. You don’t have to feel estranged from your partner to visit a mental health professional together. Sometimes, a neutral third party can help you examine and clarify the parts of your relationship that are in need of rejuvenation.
Common reasons couples seek out therapy or counseling sessions include:
- Coping with a shared loss
- Trust issues
- Intimacy concerns
- Infidelity
- Household responsibilities
- Communication difficulty
- Divorce or separation
- Major life transitions
- Differing parenting styles
- Financial hardship
- Opposing political views
- Failure to compromise
Problems can arise at any time in a relationship, whether you’ve just made a commitment to someone or been married for decades. No relationship is perfect. And it’s completely fine if your concerns aren’t reflected in the list above. A trained couples therapist or counselor will listen closely as you and your partner explain your particular obstacles, needs, and goals.
How Couples Therapy and Marriage Counseling Work
Maybe you’ve attended individual therapy or counseling sessions in the past. Perhaps this is your first time reaching out to a trained counselor for assistance. Maybe you’ve tried working with a professional in the past, but it didn’t meet all of your expectations.
There’s no need to worry. A licensed marriage and family therapist at Thriveworks Counseling can walk you through steps of couples therapy or counseling. Many find that therapy or counseling improves their relationships, just as visiting a doctor can improve your physical health.
Therapy or counseling sessions for partners may involve:
- Narrative therapy: This method asks couples to write down or voice their view of events, which frequently reveals that no single narrative can encompass their shared experience. Contradictions and inconsistencies, when shown, may help you find a new way forward in your relationship.
- Solution-focused therapy: This short-term practice aims to improve a particularly pressing issue in a relationship. Rather than dwell on a problem, couples are prompted to create solutions with guidance from their provider.
- Emotionally-focused therapy: This technique focuses on recurring reactions to disagreements that affect your relationship. Many therapists use EFT to help couples form healthy habits that allow for more secure attachments.
- Positive psychology: A therapist may ask you to identify and focus on positive moments and interactions as they occur in your relationship. The ability to notice these happy times in the present, rather than in hindsight, can lead to more positive perceptions of your time together. Positive psychology typically uses daily journaling techniques.
You may also emerge from therapy with actionable takeaways, such as strategies for remaining calm and compassionate when new conflicts arise in your relationship. Therapy or counseling can offer tools for dealing with sudden tragedies, money woes, and challenging in-laws alike.
Couples Counseling Sessions at Thriveworks in San Jose, CA
Consider working with a trained and compassionate counselor at Thriveworks Counseling if you’re having an issue in your relationship. We have many appointments available throughout the week, on the weekend, and during the evenings. If you and your partner can’t make in-person sessions, we also offer virtual appointments over the phone or through video chat.
Additionally, at Thriveworks Counseling in San Jose, CA, you can access your provider between sessions using text or email. We pride ourselves on accepting many different forms of health insurance and offer flexible cancellations.
More advantages of working with Thriveworks include:
- 24-hour Q+A with a life coach
- Exclusive video content
- Appointments within 24-48 hours
Do you think working with a couples counselor or therapist could improve your relationship? Use our online booking tool or call our office today at Thriveworks Counseling in San Jose, CA.
