Why is marriage counselling important?
Marriage counselling has been around for many years. When counselling began it was informally conducted through family and friends. It wasn’t until the late 20th century when marriage counselling was fulfilled by trained professionals. In this blog, we’re asking why is marriage counselling important?
What is marriage counselling?
Marriage counselling can be used for a number of reasons, such as to strengthen your relationship, to overcome issues or to learn some new communication skills that can be utilised within your relaqtionship. A lot of couples use counselling before marriage to learn these skills and ensure they can use them before the marriage takes place.
The process of marriage counselling can be as short or as long as you’d like. A highly trained professional can tailor your experience to ensure that you learn the basics and most important skills. There is no set number of sessions that couples require for marriage counselling. Couples should be able to show that their new skills are being used correctly and there should be enough time for the counsellor to offer further support if necessary.
Why is marriage counselling important?
Marriage counselling helps couples in many different stages in their relationship. It offers a chance to learn about important skills such as communication, which in turn can help to improve trust in relationships and can lead to a genuinely happier marriage.
Marriage counselling is often used by couples who have also experienced pre-marriage counselling, which can help to see the future of a marriage. After marriage, relationships can feel different in a positive way. Due to this change, many couples feel compelled to learn the best ways to deal with the changes that may arise.
If couples attend therapy early on in their relationship and before any issues become deeper, there’s a good chance that their issues can be resolved, if both parties wish for that. A lot of people find it difficult to suggest marriage counselling to their partner, as it is often viewed as trying to save a marriage. It is important to remember that marriages don’t need to be on the rocks for counselling to be considered. Your counsellor can help to encourage both partners to take part in this form of counselling.
These new skills that are learned during marriage therapy can be used to reduce arguments between a couple, which can definitely help to strengthen a relationship. We know that many couples will argue from time to time, but through utilising the skills learned during counselling, couples can learn to deal with issues in a more positive way.
While it’s nice to think every problem in a relationship can be resolved, it’s also important to recognise that not all problems can be resolved. Marriage counsellors recognise this and therefore they do not offer advice on issues in the relationship. They will observe your behaviour and attitudes and offer helpful strategies that may benefit your relationship, but they will never offer you guidance on deciding whether it’s time to end the relationship.
Within a relationship, some issues can seem like the end of the world, but an important aspect of marriage counselling is that your counsellor will provide you with realistic expectations for your relationship. This is achieved through accountability and activities that you will need to complete at home in your own time. It’s very important to practice techniques when your counsellor is not around, as these are normal conditions that you will be living in. If you require further support with these techniques, your counsellor will be able to help you.
Like a lot of decisions after marriage, the decision to start counselling should be made as a team, with everyone’s feelings considered. It can be a hard subject to bring up, but if you explain the benefits involved, your partner may feel more comfortable with the idea.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any queries or need any support, our team of highly skilled therapists are always happy to help.