Couples Counseling

You’re tired of having the same fight over and over. You just can’t seem to connect with your partner. The bond that brought you together has frayed and sometimes it feels like living with a roommate. You’ve caught yourself thinking “I love my partner but I’m not in love.” Many couples attend counseling years after difficulties have emerged, often as a last ditch effort to save the relationship. You can get help before it’s too late.

You may be surprised to learn that couples counseling is among the most commonly seen issues in counseling settings. The reason, of course, is that our relationships are such a big part of our lives and can bring such meaning and fulfillment in the best times and such pain and heartbreak in the worst.

We’re passionate about helping couples with their relationships. We’d be honored to help you with yours.

Couples often attend counseling to help them achieve the following goals:

Communicate more effectively.

Navigate dead-end arguments.

Heal from infidelity.

Have more fun together.

Build intimacy and affection.

Learn to negotiate win-win outcomes.

Understand how to “fight fair.”

Decrease defensiveness and aggression.

Repair the connection that brought you together in the first place.

FAQ:

Does Couples Counseling Help?

Yes. In the majority of cases couples find counseling to be of benefit to their relationship. At FFCC we’re used to seeing successful outcomes. For additional information regarding the outcomes of couples counseling please see the following Family & Marriage Counseling website.

How Does It Work?

We strongly believe in the standby that good treatment follows good assessment. The first three sessions will be particularly oriented towards assessment. Our preference is to have the first session with both members of the couple. After that we tend to have a single one-on-one session with each partner to do gain greater depth into the needs of each partner and to allow them to share their experiences. The fourth session is a feedback session in which your counselor will review his/her diagnostic impressions and let you know what the prognosis is for your relationship. At that point you’ll collaboratively set goals for the counseling process.

How Long Will It Take?

This is a hard question to answer given the unique needs of each couple. It’s worth asking how long the couple has been in distress and the severity of that distress. Many couples will not attend counseling until 10 or 15 years after there’s been a strong problem! As you can imagine, a few sessions will probably not be enough to create significant and lasting change. In our experience couples can expect to attend somewhere between roughly 10 – 20 sessions. With this amount of time there’s reason to be optimistic that counseling will be of help.

What if My Partner Refuses to Attend Couples Counseling?

Timing and motivation is essential to the success of couples counseling. Our suggestion is to allow your partner to enter counseling when they’re ready rather than when they’re forced, as they’ll not only be a much more active and willing participant but much more likely to be open to new learning experiences.

In the meantime, individual counseling can still be a viable option to help you with your relationship. There is so much to learn including how to gain insight into your own patterns of conduct and perhaps make a few changes that can benefit both of you. We would recommend seeing The Marriage Counseling Blog for further information.