Couples come in for counseling for a wide variety of reasons. Acute issues, such as a breakdown in trust that comes with the discovery of infidelity, addiction or some other new development, can compromise the security that is essential to all healthy and respectful relationships. Other couples seek therapy in response to more chronic or long-standing issues in a relationship, such as problems related to communication, sexual compatibility or disconnection that grows from repeated patterns of indifference that can lead some couples to the brink of divorce.
Couples often wait too long to seek therapy. The longer these issues go untreated or unresolved, the deeper the wounds to the relationship.
Effective therapy will address many aspects of a relationship, however communication is often a central issue in work with couples. Learning to constructively address conflict, avoidance, emotional regulation and intimacy are also key to successful couples work. These are the foundational aspects of couples therapy on which all else is built. Each partner must be prepared to look carefully at his or her own contributions to the couple’s dynamics and commit to work towards mutually agreed upon goals.