Couples therapy is a form of psychotherapy for individuals in relationships (married or unmarried) who wish to address a wide range of relationship issues including recurring conflicts, feelings of disconnection, an affair, issues related to sex, or difficulties due to external stressors such as extended families.
Therapy often includes sessions designed to improve problem solving, build communication skills, and identify life goals and relationship responsibilities. Depending on the level of distress in the relationship, therapy can be short term or over a period of several months.
The goal of couples therapy is to improve the couples' relationship, achieve better communication, increase trust, and enhance intimacy, among other reasons.
How Does It Work and How Can Couples Therapy Help?
Couples counselling typically brings couples or partners together for joint therapy sessions. The counselor or therapist helps couples pinpoint and understand the sources of their conflicts and try to resolve them. Partners will analyse both the good and bad parts of their relationship.
Couples therapy involves learning how to communicate more effectively, and how to listen more closely. Couples must learn how to avoid competing with each other, and need to identify common life goals and how to share responsibilities within their relationship.