An insight to Couples Therapy
A romantic relationship is built on love, affection and trust. Being in a relationship is a wonderful experience but maintaining the bond with true love is a difficult task. A romantic relationship can be compared to a car; both require regular maintenance in order to run efficiently. All the issues and problems have to be resolved at the right time because procrastination may sometimes leads to serious damage to the relationship.
Relationship is a mixture of emotions. Joy and sorrow are part of the game. Those couples who are able to recognize their problem and find an appropriate solution will be successful in their relationship. Couples therapy is an effective method to resolve the disharmony between partners. Here, the counselling is done by the professionals with certain therapeutic interventions. Couples therapy is not a treatment but an open interaction where the therapist provides a friendly platform for the couples to talk and listen openly. It helps the couples to make their relationship stronger. Couples therapy is very useful for the couples who are getting married soon. There is a misconception that couples therapy is meant for only those who faces serious problems and some others see it as a last chance of hope before getting separated. Actually the therapy provides an insight to one’s relationship by strengthening the mutual bond. The counselling sessions make the clients to understand their partner more which eventually leads to a successful conjugal life.
Most of the people are not aware of the benefits of couple therapy. It treats almost all kind of relational issues by providing an overall satisfaction and gratification in a relationship. It is very useful for mental health because a failed relationship can affect the mental stability of a person adversely.
Researches show that average couple is unsatisfied six years before attending couples therapy. Many long standing problems can be resolved with this therapy if both the partners are ready to cooperate. This is a time-consuming venture, so immense commitment and effort from both partners is very much essential.
What is Couples Therapy?
Couples therapy is all about a professional therapist working with a couple to get an inner picture of their relationship and figuring out the issue developed. The clinical therapist is known by the name LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist). They provide a new strength to the lost relationship by analysing and resolving conflicts. A new trust and satisfaction in the relationship can be attained through various therapeutic sessions. Couples therapy depends on the theoretical orientation of the therapist. There are four elements in a couples therapy. They are given in the following:
- Therapist focuses on a particular problem. It can be envy, sexual problems, internet or phone addiction etc.
- Therapist treats the relationship not the individuals separately.
- Therapeutic interventions are change-oriented and solution-focused in nature.
- Treatment objectives are established evidently.
The initial sessions of treatment are meant for crisis interventions. Therapist tries to get a clear picture of the history and background of relationship by asking some standard interview questions. The cultural and religious values of both the partners can be understood from this session. The individual’s family of origin can also be explored from the initial sessions. After the interview sessions, therapist helps the couples to identify their issue. Once the issue is identified, further treatments will be focused on that specific issue. Therapist then plans the structure for treatment and establishes treatment goals.
The treatment phase helps the couples to understand the relational dynamics. Therapist makes the couples to realize their roles in the dysfunctional interactions. This realization helps the couples to change the way they perceive the relationship. It also helps to understand each other with a changed perspective.
Changing the way of interacting each other is a very crucial aspect of couples therapy. Therapists assign homework to the couples to make use of the skills they have gained in therapy in their everyday interactions. This results in a change in the behaviour and actions. After the therapy, there is an increased emotional expression between the partners which help them to communicate openly. They will acquire the skill to solve problem themselves more effectively. In short, couples therapy provides the couples an insight to the relational patterns.
Who is it for?
Couple therapy is beneficial not only for married couple but also for those whose dating, engaged, young, old, mixed race, gay etc. It is an effective therapy for almost all kind of relationship. Newly engaged couples find it as an opportunity to understand the partner and discuss the relationship expectations before getting married. Some other couple, together for 25 years may use this therapy to regain the romance and thrill in the relationship.
Couples therapy prevents the severity of a problem by solving it at the right time. It can resolve the present issues and provide a “check-up” for the couple. It deals with issues with sex, parenting, in-laws, financial problems, health problems, emotional problems, frequent conflicts, adultery, infertility, substance use, gambling etc.
Benefits of Talkspace Couples Therapy
Talkspace makes couples therapy available and affordable for all. It provides more people with convenient access to licensed therapists. Talkspace stands out because of the affordability and convenience it provides. The text- based format has a lot of advantages than traditional face-to-face couples therapy. At Talkspace clients are given opportunity to communicate and share their feelings without any interruptions. The ability of processing one’s thoughts can be developed which makes the partners communication effective and efficient. Some people can explain themselves better through writing. Text- based format help such people to open their mind freely and express their honest inner emotions. Such expressions enhance the trust and intimacy between the partners.
The format provides individual time and space which help each individual to process their partner’s reaction rather than focussing on what they are going to speak. This method is highly beneficial for the couples who cannot coordinate the therapeutic sessions together because of having different work schedules. Couples with children who have difficulty for travelling long or finding childcare are benefited from the accessibility of Talkspace.
Couples therapy can be very costly for many families. Talkspace couples therapy is much more affordable than traditional face to face therapy. Talkspace couples therapy results in quick results because it provides opportunity for productive communication.
