How Relationship Counseling Keeps You Together
Every relationship faces challenges over time. From major life changes to a lot of little things adding up to annoyances, it’s easy for a once-stable relationship to start feeling a bit unstable. But what do you do if you still love your partner, and want to make sure your relationship can overcome those challenges?
Relationship counseling is often the answer. Qualified, licensed couples therapists can help anyone in a committed relationship, whether married or simply partners, to get through those rough patches! Sometimes, all it takes is allowing a qualified, non-judgemental third party to hear your issues and help make things right.
How can relationship counseling help you stay together? For example:
Encouraging Open Communication
No couple agrees on everything 100% of the time. Disputes are bound to happen from time to time, which can be challenging. After all, if you love someone, you don’t want to argue with them! It’s easy for disagreements to lead to reduced communication – but attempting to avoid disputes just causes those disagreements to keep simmering.
A qualified relationship counselor can encourage and facilitate communication so that any disputes can get into the open in a friendly and non-confrontational way. They also help you understand better communication strategies so that, in the future, you and your partner will be more open with each other. That’s a great way to maintain a long-term relationship!
Setting Boundaries
Boundaries can be difficult to maintain in a relationship, but everyone needs to say “no” from time to time. It’s necessary for your own well-being, and to maintain the relationship. A great partnership is a two-way street, and both people need to be giving and taking.
An experienced counselor can help you and your partner understand when “no” is the right answer, and how to recognize when you should put your own needs first. A healthy relationship has healthy boundaries, and relationship counseling helps build them.
Defining Your Needs
Everyone has needs from a relationship and will feel unfulfilled if those needs go unmet. This can create challenges in defining your needs and communicating them to your partner in a loving way.
Sometimes, one of the most important services a relationship counselor can provide is helping people understand what they’re looking for in their relationship, and how each person can help their partner fill those needs.
Changing Things Up
It’s easy for long-term relationships to feel like they’ve become stale, or just doing the same things over and over. A great counselor can help you identify when this is the case, and encourage you to keep things lively. Sometimes all it takes is a surprise gift, or a really nice date night, to freshen up a relationship.
Empower Professional Counseling Services Is Here For You
We have over 20 years of experience helping couples of all types maintain their relationships. Joni Winstead, LMHC, NCC, MCAP, CTP is fully licensed and accredited, offering open-minded and non-judgemental advice to couples in need. We’re also LGBTQIA+ friendly, and here to help anyone in need.
If you’re facing relationship challenges, don’t give up! Contact us to make an appointment.