4 Ways To Get The Most Benefit From Couples Therapy
What makes couples therapy successful?
Couples therapy can be a highly effective way to work through relationship difficulties. To get your relationship on track, counselling can help. It is important that you know what to expect when you go into couples counselling.
In my years practicing, I’ve seen couples move from relationship nightmare to healthy and happy within six months of counseling. In many cases, by the time the couple ends up in the therapist’s office, they have been struggling for at least a year trying to fix issues, or avoiding them. Therapy is often seen as a last resort.
Couples who are successful in this process have several things in common that help them fully benefit from therapy. Here are four ways you and your partner can set yourselves up for success:
1. Commit to the Process
Whether therapy is your first stop, or a final attempt to salvage the relationship, I ask that couples give it their best effort. This can be difficult if you’ve been to other therapists or tried different solutions without success. You may be feeling frustrated, resentful, or defeated.Resistance and defensiveness can slow your progress.
The four most destructive forces in a relationship are defensiveness, criticism, contempt, and stonewalling. From my experience, when any of these factors is present in the therapy room, it significantly impedes progress. All couples have conflict. It is how you manage that conflict that determines the outcome. Therapy works best if couples can set aside their resentments and come out from behind their emotional walls.
In some cases, it takes time for couples to be able to do so because of ongoing conflicts, past hurts, and distrust. In these cases, it is important to focus on the trust and healing first, so that reconciliation can occur.
2. Be Honest and Open with your Therapist
At this point, you may feel like you’ve tried everything. You have likely had countless arguments or conversations with your partner. Various approaches, such as researching the issue online or speaking with friends, may have been tried. It’s natural to be skeptical about therapy or uncertain whether the solution will satisfy you.
It is always possible your problems can’t or won’t be overcome. In some cases, a couple may determine their relationship is no longer healthy or compatible and decide to consciously uncouple it. However, these are the minority of cases. In most situations, the problem is solvable. In therapy, you will be asked to suspend your disbelief and be open to the possible benefits of the techniques used in therapy.
This may include communication exercises, intimacy homework, referral to medical providers, and considering new ways of framing your issue. Therapists use evidence-based methods that have a track record of success. When people are courageous by being open to the process, they can benefit from therapy interventions.
3. Prioritize Your Appointments
Therapy works best if couples can set aside their resentments and come out from behind their emotional walls.
It is important that couples commit to at least two therapy sessions per month for six months. This commitment serves two functions. First, it provides a chance for the therapy to work. We all wish there was a magic wand that would make our problems go away.
Unfortunately, no one has one. However, we each have the ability to make positive changes, and therapy can help with that process, it just takes time. In my experience, it takes a minimum of 12 sessions for sustainable change to occur.
The second reason to prioritize your appointments: it communicates to yourself and your partner the relationship is worth it. Couples may be juggling work, school, family, and other responsibilities. Fitting therapy appointments into that can be a challenge, both logistically and financially. However, when couples find a way to make it work, they can benefit greatly.
4. Follow through on the Homework
The purpose of therapy is not to learn how to interact perfectly while in the therapist’s office. That is often the easiest part! The purpose of therapy is to learn how to interact in real life. Counselling helps to learn how to navigate obstacles and conflict as they arise, in the midst of daily life.
Some therapists assign couples the homework of having one to two intimacy dates per week. This is a planned time in which they set aside other demands and focus solely on each other. The couple uses this time to focus on applying what was learned in therapy.
The homework will differ greatly depending on your issue. However, what is true for all couples is practice makes “perfect.” Brain research shows the more we practice new ways of thinking and responding, the easier it becomes. Neural pathways in the brain are like muscles: the more you work them, the stronger they become. Neural memory develops, and with time, the new ways of relating to one another learned in therapy may become second nature.
Conclusion
Couples therapy is truly an excellent resource that helps many couples overcome challenges. Certain factors can help make therapy successful. Those factors include committing fully to the process, having an open mind, prioritizing appointments, and doing the homework. Seeing a therapist takes courage and dedication, and may prove life-changing for you and your partner.