What better week to write about couples counseling than the week of Valentines day? A day when love is in the air and on everyone’s mind. If you’re in Palm Beach Gardens like me, you can already picture it. Couples strolling the green market, the beach maybe? No matter where in the world they are though, every romantic relationship has its own unique system with its own strengths and struggles. However, nearly every couple goes through a rough patch or two, some worse than others.
We’ve all seen it in movies, shows, or in our own lives. Relationships start to fray, communication breaks down, and both partners start passive aggressively blaming each other and breaking each other down. Finally they take the decision to seek out couples counseling. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. What if I told you, however, that you don’t have to wait until things are rough. In fact it can even be better to go early. Here are 4 reasons why you should consider counseling early on for your relationship.
Couples Counseling Can Boost Communication
The biggest reasons most couples seek out counseling is almost always rooted in communication issues. Sure you can wait until these issues drive you apart to the point where you go to counseling and it could definitely still work. However, why not save yourself the heartache (and the headache)? By improving your communication early on through couples counseling, you can avoid unnecessary conflict down the road.
There’s no escaping conflict entirely though, so remember not to set your expectations too high as it’s not fair to your partner, nor conducive to your relationship. Improved communication can, however, help you two navigate your conflicts in a healthy way in which you both end up with an even deeper connection after every conflict you put behind you.
Set Yourselves Up For Success With Relationship skills
Couples counseling can provide couples with the tools and skills necessary to build and maintain a healthy relationship. Many times, these skills are given in times of crisis for damage control. Here are some of the most common and helpful skills we teach couples coming to us:
Emotional Intelligence
Understanding and managing one’s own emotions and being able to empathize with one’s partner is crucial in a healthy relationship.
Conflict Resolution
Being able to identify and resolve conflicts in a healthy and respectful way is important for maintaining a relationship.
Boundaries
Setting and respecting boundaries in couples counseling and respecting them at home is key for maintaining a healthy balance of independence and intimacy.
Trust & Honesty
Trust and honesty are the foundation of any healthy relationship, without trust and honesty it would be difficult for a relationship to last.
Flexibility & Compromise
Being able to adapt to change and make compromises is important in any healthy relationship.
Emotional Support
Being able to provide emotional support and understanding to each other is important for a healthy relationship.
Shared Values & Goals
Having shared values and goals can help couples align their priorities and build a shared vision for their future together.
I’ll go into these in more detail in a future post. For now though, I’ll ask this. Wouldn’t you rather attend couples counseling to develop these skills early on to improve and deepen your relationship rather than learn them later in order to save your relationship? Not only is it much better for you, your partner, and your relationship overall. It’s also much less stress and heartache than waiting for problems to arise.
Address Potential Problems
By addressing potential issues early on through couples counseling can help you both identify and address underlying issues. Issues like resentment, jealousy, and lack of trust can eat away at the relationship and build resentment. Many couples have come back from this, sure. However, it’s definitely less likely (and more exhausting) when letting things get to that point.
Instead, finding and rooting out these potential problems before they become something more complex and harder to deal with can help you both come up for air. In this relaxed and supportive environment that you’ve created, it’s much easier to work on deepening your connection instead of exhausting yourselves trying to patch things up.
Create A Deeper Connection In Your Relationship With Couples Counseling
Couples counseling can help partners understand and appreciate each other’s perspectives, leading to a stronger and more fulfilling relationship. It can also help couples develop a deeper understanding and connection with each other, which can lead to a more satisfying and enjoyable relationship. Through counseling, couples can learn to prioritize their relationship, build trust and intimacy, and create a shared vision for their future together.
My name is Jessica Harrison. I’m a licensed therapist in the Palm Beach Gardens area who’s been helping couples break through their problems and build a deeper, more loving relationship. You can check out my page if you’d like to learn more about my approach to couples counseling
Whether you’re just starting out or have been together for years, counseling can help you and your partner improve your communication, develop relationship skills, address potential problems, and enhance your relationship. So why wait until problems arise? If you’re in the Palm Beach Gardens area, call me at (954) 600-6695 and let’s set your relationship up for happiness and success together.