3 Ways a Relationship Therapist Can Help Your Marriage
I get it. Marriage can be tough. If you’ve been thinking about hiring a relationship therapist in the DFW area, you may have some questions: Is a relationship therapist worth the money? What exactly will a therapy session look like? What if the therapist takes sides or doesn’t see my point of view? A relationship therapist can help your marriage by drastically improving the quality of your marriage to make space for you to enjoy your beautiful life. If you’ve been thinking about scheduling with a marriage therapist, here are three ways a relationship therapist can help your marriage.
A relationship therapist can help improve communication.
Many married couples struggle with communication. Couples can often feel stuck, encountering the same problems when trying to communicate with their spouse. A relationship therapist has been trained to help improve communication by identifying the communication style each spouse is using. A relationship therapist can also help each spouse understand the other by providing psychoeducation on communication techniques that are most effective with each spouse’s personality. Lastly, a relationship therapist can offer a fresh perspective on a cyclical pattern of communication that can be the key to breakthrough.
Common Communication Problems in Relationships:
- Misreading nonverbal signals
- Example: Your spouse comes home from a long day at work. She slams her purse on the counter and breathes deeply after you ask her “What’s wrong?”. You yell at your spouse for being insensitive when your spouse was upset because of a mishap at work.
- Getting distracted from central topic
- Example: You and your spouse agree to have a financial meeting to discuss the budget. As the conversation progresses, you realize your spouse went out to eat at a restaurant with some co-workers and overspent in the restaurant category. Instead of focusing on the overspending, you berate your spouse for going out to eat without you, bringing up your insecurity that your spouse may be cheating on you.
- Choosing the wrong tone or timing to communicate important issues
- Example: Your spouse just got off the phone, after having a difficult conversation with her brother. You decide to have a conversation about your spouse’s nagging tone and lack of intimacy in the relationship right then.
While these examples are exaggerated, they represent issues that can commonly occur in relationships. Unpacking not only what went wrong but how it could’ve been better with a relationship therapist can be extremely helpful for couples.
A relationship therapist can help resolve conflict, effectively.
Conflict can often suck the life out of a marriage. Whether you are arguing with your spouse over money or intimacy, parenting or in-laws, many couple’s find it difficult to reach common ground effectively. A relationship therapist has been trained to help objectively clarify the center of the conflict to help reach a resolution efficiently. A relationship therapist can also help each spouse manage his or her own emotional experience to provide a compromise that each spouse can happily agree with.
Relationship therapists can help clarify direction in marriage.
Relationship therapists can help couples identify or clarify direction for their marriage. Many couples find that after a few years of marriage, the relationship can feel stagnant. While this could be due to many legitimate reasons (job transitions, children, aging parents), the vision for the marriage may have gotten lost in circumstances. A relationship therapist can help provide a big picture perspective to ensure the marriage is on the right track. Creating space for dreaming together can help build intimacy and connection within the relationship.
A marriage is one of the most important relationships in your life. Whether you need fresh eyes on a recurring problem or a safe space to process heavy news, our relationship therapists are here to help to support you and your spouse. I’ve been trained to help you not just endure your marriage but enjoy your spouse. Here at SEVN Therapy Co. in Colleyville, we’re on the cutting-edge of marriage therapy and I can assist you with all your marriage needs. Click here to schedule a session with me online or call us today at 817-778-0522.
