When to Seek Marriage Counselling
If you are struggling in your relationship you might be wondering when to seek marriage counselling. Is it OK to wait to see if things get better or should you leap into action before things get any worse?
The average couple wait 6 years before doing anything about a struggling relationship. 6 years! Can you imagine doing that with any other aspect of your life?
If you were suffering physical pain, it’s unlikely that you would leave it as long as 6 weeks before going to the doctor!
Just like an unaddressed wound left to fester, waiting a long time for before sorting your problems with marriage counselling can result in so much bad blood and resentment building up in the relationship that by the time you do seek help, things are too late to fix.
So let’s look at the question another way. What are the tell tale signs that couples counselling could help your relationship?
When You Get Into A Relationship. This might be a surprising one for you, but the best time to learn about how to have a relationship is when you first get into one. If you both have a clear idea of what you want your relationship to look like and you share this with each other you’re onto a winner from the start!
I’m a big believer in pre-marital counselling. Learning to communicate effectively with each other using Imago Dialogue and setting off with good intentions for the relationship increases the chances of you having a successful relationship exponentially.
The “Getting The Love You Want” weekend workshop offered by Imago Workshop presenters can help you out here. You will learn how to have a close meaningful relationship without having to go into couples counselling.
When You Enter The Power Struggle. Starting to rub up against each other the wrong way? Finding your partner more annoying than you used to? This is normal. You’re entering the power struggle phase of the relationship which is what’s supposed to happen.
In Imago we believe that this is where the growth happens. Seek out a good Imago Relationship Therapist and they will help you understand what’s going on. They will create a space for you both to identify unmet needs, and how these are being triggered in your relationship.
As you work to reconnect you will see your relationship feeling far more positive and close.
When Things Go Badly Wrong. Having a crisis in your relationship is normal too! This often happens when both of you have been focusing on other things and have used inappropriate ways of managing your disconnection to soothe yourself at the cost of your relationship. Affairs, addictions, overwork – Marriage counselling with an Imago Relationship Therapist can help.
It may feel like the end of the world, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the relationship. Do the work.
An Imago therapist will give you a safe format for exploring how things have gone wrong and a path to getting back into connection again.
To summarise, you should seek marriage counselling whenever you get a sniff that things are not as they should be, and before that point if you want to give yourself the best chance of connection in your relationship. Now all you need to do is click this link to find an Imago Therapist that can help you!