Couples Counseling
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Relationships are challenging. No relationship is perfect 100 percent of the time.
Signs that couples counseling may be helpful: -Constant arguing -Focusing on each other's flaws, or what the other person is NOT doing, rather than what they are -Feelings of resentment in the relationship -Feelings of hurt, jealousy, anger, etc. -Feeling distant or disconnected from one another -Joint experience of a loss or trauma -Infidelity or disloyalty in the relationship -Difficulty navigating a change in relationship status -Introduction of new stressors that challenge the relationship (i.e. birth of a child, taking on caretaking of a parent, a move to a new location) -Infertility -Desire to deepen your understanding of one another and build a stronger bond |
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What happens in a couples counseling session?
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Here at Healing & Growth Counseling, we are focused on helping couples to openly explore their thoughts and feelings with one another in a safe and calm environment. Utilizing healthy communication skills, couples can have deeper conversation about their concerns and support one another as they search for root causes to current issues and work through them. Couples may work on learning and implementing healthier ways of communicating and coping in their daily lives, as well as engaging in activities that may help them to reconnect and deepen their relationship.
Couples counseling can also be helpful to a couple who may be ending their romantic relationship, however are choosing to co-parent their children. The couple can work on setting healthy boundaries in the relationship and communicating effectively and in a way that is comfortable for both parties and the children. They can use the counseling sessions as a way to build a new foundation in the changed relationship. |
Online Therapy in New York for Couples
Online therapy became increasingly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the need for safe distancing, however has remained quite popular due to the way it allows people to attend counseling while having a busy schedule or to connect with the right therapist at a distance if they are not local.
Busy schedules can easily impact an individual's ability to attend sessions in the office on a regular basis. When trying to attend therapy with a partner, busy schedules of two individuals can even more easily interfere with attending Couples Therapy in the office. For this reason, online therapy for couples can be a powerful and effective alternative. Sometimes couples are unable to attend appointments together until later in the evening, once their kids are asleep, keeping them from being able to leave the house to attend Couples Therapy in person. Sometimes couples are only able to attend Couples Therapy during their lunch break at work, while working in different locations. Online therapy for couples allows the couple to find ways to still make their work on their relationship a priority in a way that doesn't add as much additional stress to their plates.
Online therapy for couples is also helpful for people who want to work on their relationship, however do not have any couples therapists local to them. Or they may have met with local couples therapists and found them to not be a good fit for their needs. In this situation online therapy for couples allows couples to choose who they work with based on who is a good fit rather than who is located close to their home or jobs.
Busy schedules can easily impact an individual's ability to attend sessions in the office on a regular basis. When trying to attend therapy with a partner, busy schedules of two individuals can even more easily interfere with attending Couples Therapy in the office. For this reason, online therapy for couples can be a powerful and effective alternative. Sometimes couples are unable to attend appointments together until later in the evening, once their kids are asleep, keeping them from being able to leave the house to attend Couples Therapy in person. Sometimes couples are only able to attend Couples Therapy during their lunch break at work, while working in different locations. Online therapy for couples allows the couple to find ways to still make their work on their relationship a priority in a way that doesn't add as much additional stress to their plates.
Online therapy for couples is also helpful for people who want to work on their relationship, however do not have any couples therapists local to them. Or they may have met with local couples therapists and found them to not be a good fit for their needs. In this situation online therapy for couples allows couples to choose who they work with based on who is a good fit rather than who is located close to their home or jobs.
Can Couples Counseling Save a Relationship?
Yes, couples counseling can be effective in saving a relationship. There are certain factors that can improve the possibility of a relationship improving and stabilizing with couples counseling. Here are a few:
Honesty
Being open about your thoughts and feelings in couples counseling sessions will help your therapist to better understand the concerns and struggles in your relationship. This will help the therapist to better be able to direct the session in the most helpful way. First, your therapist will work with you to develop healthy, effective communication skills which will help you to share your thoughts and feelings in a way that are productive to work towards your goals. Using these skills, you can share with both your partner and therapist openly and honestly in session to mend the ruptures in the relationship.
Vulnerability
Discord and concerns in relationships can lead to partners "closing up" and forming an emotional wall between them. It is often done as protection for oneself, so as to not feel shut down or rejected by your partner, or for the other person, to protect them from your true feelings. Busy couples may also practice avoiding feelings in day-to-day life, as it doesn't seem that you have time for them. As you embark on couples counseling, working towards lowering these walls will allow each partner to become vulnerable and open with themselves and each other. Increased vulnerability, once it feels safe to do so, will help work through the feelings that have been impacting the relationship. With practice in session, the goal is to begin to allow such vulnerability with your partner outside of sessions as well.
Prioritizing the Relationship
When most couples enter couples counseling, they present as if they are on two opposite teams battling against one another. A crucial factor in successfully repairing a relationship is to recognize that a relationship is meant to be one team working together. Many people have the incorrect belief that the therapist's role in couples counseling is to identify who is right and who is wrong. Rather, the therapist's role is to help the team reunite and work together towards goals rather than against one another.
Questions about Therapy in NY for Couples?
Questions? Call us at (516) 406-8991.
Ready to Schedule an Appointment with a Couples Therapist?
Ready to schedule? Fill out our Contact Form.
