What You Need To Know About Preparing For Marriage Counseling
Marriages are hard work. Yes, they're enjoyable, rewarding and filled with love. But the probability that a first marriage will last more than a decade is 68% for women and 70% for men, according to the National Health Statistics Report. Even though that may seem like a lot, at least 30% of marriages won't make it 10 years. Don't let these stats scare you. Keeping a marriage together for a lifetime is more than just a percentage or a possibility.
If you're struggling in your relationship, marriage counseling can turn things around and give you hope. That said, taking the first step and picking up the phone isn't always easy. On top of that, you may need to do some mental prep-work before counseling actually begins. What can you do to prepare for counseling? Take a look at the steps that can ease the process and help you to make the most of the help that you're seeking:
Start Early On
There's no reason to wait until things get so bad that one (or both) of you are bringing up the "d" word (that's divorce). Marriage counseling isn't just for couples who are on the verge of ending things. Yes, couples do come to counseling as a last-ditch effort to save their marriages. But there are also plenty of couples who start therapy early on.
An early start gives you the tools you need to communicate with your partner well before major problems begin to creep up. You'll have a 'marriage skill set' that you can use right now and in the years to come.
Along with developing the skills you need to make your marriage work, an early start to counseling gives you the chance to work on problem areas before they escalate. Instead of sitting and simmering, the counselor can help the two of you to work out minor issues before they reach sky-high dramatic proportions.
Connect with the Counselor
Relationships are important. Not just the relationship you have with your spouse, but also the one you have with your therapist. If you don't feel comfortable with the counselor or with the therapist's methods, you can't get the full benefits.
Sit down with your potential counselor and talk to them about their techniques, their views on marriage and how they can help you. When you find someone who you (and your spouse) connects with, you have a recipe for the best help possible.
Get On the Same Page
What are your counseling goals? If your goals are facilitating communication and your spouse wants to work on bringing back the romance, you may have a mismatch. Make the most of the marriage counseling by getting on the same page and talking about what both of you want to get out of therapy. It's perfectly okay if you both have your own goals. The trick here is to make sure that you both understand what each other's goals are. This lets you go into counseling with a clear picture of what will happen and what your overall objectives are.
You don't have to become a statistic. Marriage counseling is a proven, effective way to mend relationships. From starting as soon as issues begin popping up to connecting with your counselor and making sure that everyone is on-board with your therapy goals, you can keep your relationship going strong.
Contact a company like Cranberry & WEXFORD PSYCHOLOGIST for more information and assistance.
