When your relationship was brand new, everything was easy. You couldn’t get enough of each other. You did everything together and even thought about each other when you were apart. You could practically see a gold carpet rolling out in front of you as you waltzed into the future, hand in hand.
But as time went by, things began to change. Life threw some problems your way and you may have discovered bad habits you can’t ignore. You started arguing more, forgetting how it felt in the beginning. Maybe you and your partner feel more like adversaries these days and less like a loving team.
It’s completely normal for couples to go through rough patches but that doesn’t mean you have to ignore them and let them escalate. Some people throw in the towel or give up when the going gets rough. But as long as you and your partner are willing to put in the work to make your relationship last, couples therapy can be the first big step in that journey. Thriveworks Counseling in Dayton, OH is here to help you turn things around.
Common Reasons To Seek Out Marriage Counseling or Couples Therapy
Whether your relationship feels rocky lately or you just want to address specific issues that are getting in the way, a couples therapist can work with you to find solutions.
There are many issues that can affect the strength of your bond with each other, including:
- Difficulty trusting one another
- Intimacy issues
- A lack of confidence in yourself
- Trouble balancing work and home life
- Mental health concerns
- Substance abuse
- Stress
- Financial problems
- Problems with other family members
- Issues with children in your relationship
- Problems with an ex-spouse
When you seek marriage counseling or couples counseling at Thriveworks in Dayton, OH, a marriage and family therapist will work closely with you to identify the threats to your relationship. You’ll work as a team to find coping strategies that can help you to cut your problems down to size.
What Techniques Are Used in Couples Counseling?
If you are still together, there is still time to save your relationship. The first step is to acknowledge there is a problem and have a willingness to do something about it.
To start, consider sitting down with your partner and making a list of everything you love about one another. Think back to the time when you first fell in love and add those positives to your list as well. When you realize what you have is worth fighting for, it can make working together in couples therapy that much easier.
If your issues extend beyond your partner, family therapy is possible as well. Either way, your counselor will work with you in an objective way to open up the lines of communication and get to the heart of the matter. Sometimes a fresh perspective can be the missing link in breaking down walls and mending old wounds.
Throughout couples therapy, clients learn how to communicate more openly with their partners in a positive way. They identify problematic patterns of behavior and learn coping strategies to tolerate distress and deal with uncomfortable feelings.
Your licensed marriage and family therapist may take different approaches to help you depending on your needs and goals. Some strategies include:
- Emotionally focused therapy, which revolves around the emotions that trigger your reactions
- Narrative therapy, which encourages you to share stories about your life and reframe those events in a different light
- The Gottman Method, which involves teaching clients skills that have been shown to nurture healthier relationships
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which focuses on changing negative thought patterns into more effective ones
There is no one-size-fits-all answer when a relationship is struggling. Your therapist at Thriveworks in Dayton, OH will choose an approach that is customized to your specific situation. In some cases, a combination of methods may be the answer to help you both find your way back to each other.
Schedule Couples Therapy Today at Thriveworks in Dayton, OH
It has been said that you should not go to bed angry when you are in a relationship. Chances are, that has already happened to you. You may be dealing with serious issues but you still have time to turn your situation around.
If you’re ready to get started, schedule an appointment with the team at Thriveworks in Dayton today. We’ll work with you to find an appointment time that will fit into both of your schedules, including evenings and weekends. We also offer appointments online via phone or video chat in case that is more convenient.
We accept most major insurance plans and can often offer new clients same-day and next-day appointments. With one click or phone call, you could be seeing us tomorrow and on the way to a healthier and happier relationship.
