Couples Therapy
Are You And Your Partner Struggling With Communication Issues?
Do you and your partner find yourselves having the same arguments over and over?
Does it feel like your partner just doesn’t understand you or where you’re coming from?
Deep down, do you wish you could turn back the clock to when you first fell in love?
Maybe your relationship is on rocky soil because of infidelity, trouble setting boundaries, or disagreements about parenting. Perhaps you’re planning to get married, but you’ve been experiencing more conflict than usual and you’re worried that this relationship won’t work out. Or maybe you’re already married, but differences have emerged between you that you didn’t foresee. As a result, you may be considering a therapist who works with couples.
You And Your Partner May Have Two Completely Different Ideas About How To Solve Conflict
When you get into an argument, maybe one of you shuts down and withdraws entirely. Perhaps the other prefers to address conflict directly and immediately. Over time, these differences could create frustration, confusion, and anger. You might find yourselves getting stuck in the same fights again and again, unable to communicate in a healthy way or reach any sort of compromise.
Thankfully, you don’t have to keep feeling stuck. At Sunrise Counseling Services, we specialize in teaching couples to navigate conflict, rebuild trust, and increase their intimacy and affection. Our practice is LGBTQ+ friendly and we provide counseling for couples who are married, unmarried, engaged, and divorced. We’re confident that we can give you and your partner the compassionate support you need.
Too Many Couples Jump Into Relationships Without Discussing Roles, Expectations, Or Values
When relationships begin, most couples forget to have important conversations about finances, parenting, and expectations for the relationship. They get so wrapped up in the honeymoon stage that they forget to discuss their expectations for what a healthy relationship looks like. As a result, they aren’t prepared for what to do when their expectations clash.
A healthy relationship requires that couples talk about how they’ll handle finances, parenting roles, sexual needs, and other areas of their life together. When these issues aren’t discussed, frustration inevitably enters the relationship. That’s why it’s so important for couples to be proactive and discuss their differences early on.
Infidelity Is Often The Number-One Problem In Relationships—But Couples Can And Do Recover
Many relationships suffer from infidelity. And in our digital, interconnected modern world, extramarital affairs are easier to initiate than ever before. Many times, people turn to affairs to find the connection that their own marriage or relationship lacks.
Infidelity is an especially common problem among military couples, whom our practice works with very closely. When one partner is overseas or in training, it’s easier for them or their partner to seek consolation outside the relationship. Staying faithful can be hard when two people are so far away from each other for long stretches of time.
If infidelity has entered your relationship, we encourage you to take heart and remember that hope is not lost. Our counselors have lots of experience helping couples rebuild trust after affairs—we’re confident that we can do the same for you.
Couples Therapy Can Help You And Your Partner Feel Seen, Heard, And Loved In Your Relationship
Let’s face it: when your relationship is having problems, it’s very tempting to blame the other person. At Sunrise Counseling Services, our guiding philosophy is that “the issue is the issue,” meaning that we try to tackle each relationship issue without focusing on who’s to blame. After all, the core problem in a relationship is usually that neither partner feels seen, heard, loved, or valued. And that’s a problem that both partners have to try and overcome together.
Our counseling sessions provide a safe, confidential space where couples can learn new communication skills, process grief or trauma, and identify their expectations and values. Our therapists are nonjudgmental and unbiased, focusing on your marriage or relationship from a neutral perspective. Whether you are married, about to tie the knot, or on the fence about your future together, we would be honored to help you and your partner figure out what’s best for you.
What To Expect In Couples Counseling Sessions
During the intake process, we will generally meet with you and your partner together to go over your needs and goals for therapy. We may also have breakout sessions with each of you separately so that we can understand your individual concerns. When the intake is done, you and your partner will resume meeting together for the majority of sessions.
In couples therapy with us, you can expect to gain new skills for improving communication, rebuilding trust, setting healthier boundaries, and navigating everyday stressors that affect your relationship. We’ll help you get to the core issues and the “why” behind what’s happening. And if there is any trauma or grief and loss that’s affecting your relationship, we’ll help you both work on processing and resolving the pain of the past together.
Creating Your Couples Therapy Plan
Our therapists draw from a wide range of approaches to help couples overcome their stuck points. We use the Gottman Method to help couples identify their strengths and weaknesses, Emotionally-Focused Therapy to help them communicate their feelings more effectively and get to the root cause of the issue, and Prepare-and-Enrich Counseling to help them adapt to the changing nature of marriage and relationships and better identify core values and beliefs.
Ultimately, our therapists will utilize whichever methods benefit you and your partner most. By working together and drawing from a variety of evidence-based approaches, we’ll help you and your partner build a toolbox of skills so that you can create long-term success in your relationship.
You May Have Some Questions About Couples And Marriage Counseling…
What if I don’t have time for therapy?
Our therapists have flexible schedules and many of us have evening or weekend availability for clients. We’re all about supporting people with busy schedules. We also offer online counseling to assist with parents who struggle to make it to the office due to childcare concerns.
What if we can’t afford couples therapy?
We offer a variety of payment options and session types to suit the needs of each couple. For couples who want to save time and money, we highly recommend our intensive programs. These programs are a chance to complete the same goals as long-term therapy in the span of a day or two. Additionally, we work with local grant programs and have interns on staff who offer many cost-supportive options for couples.
What if we’ve had bad experiences in couples therapy?
We understand that therapy is not a one-size-fits-all experience and that not every approach is right for you. That’s why we have a collaborative team whose primary goal is quality care for clients. If something didn’t work for you in the past, please let us know and we will make adjustments so that our approach matches your needs and desires. And if you ever feel like your therapist isn’t a good fit, our administrative staff would be happy to connect you with someone else on our team.
Let Us Help You Fall In Love Again
If you and your partner want to deepen your connection and rekindle the spark at the heart of your romance, we encourage you to pursue couples and marriage therapy with us. To get started, email us or call 931-494-6803.
Recent Posts
Marriage is one of the most beautiful bonds that two people can share, but it can also be one of the most challenging. A healthy and happy marriage takes effort, communication, and commitment.