Uniting Relationships through Tailored Couples and Marriage Counseling – Available in Richmond, VA
Types of Therapy Designed to Strengthen Your Relationship as a Couple
Couples counseling is for more than just partners in crisis. Spouses should always look for opportunities to work together before they commit to each other. Regardless of the stage of your relationship, WHOA can help you find support in Richmond, VA to help you and your partner thrive. Luckily, there is no single formula for therapy that will work for every couple. Just as you are unique individuals, counseling needs differ. Here are the most common reasons couples seek out therapists and how a counselor can help you.
Premarital Counseling
One of the most important things you can do for your relationship is couples therapy sessions before you make that lifelong commitment and walk down the aisle. Your therapist will suggest ways to strengthen your and your partner’s communication skills. Premarital counselors work with couples to help them discuss challenges experienced in most relationships. Some common topics you will discuss include:
- Lifestyle decisions
- Relationships with in-laws
- The desired number and timing of children
- Financial status and goals
- Sexual expectations
Physical or Emotional Infidelity
Many couples that experience infidelity see a therapist. Counseling for couples facing infidelity is more likely to strengthen their marriage with the help of a counselor. Infidelity is a break of trust, and both parties often need an intermediary that can help rebuild the relationship. The therapist focuses on identifying the underlying issues that led to the affair.
Cognitive-behavior therapy is a frequent method to support couples dealing with infidelity in their relationship. Therapists help individuals to respond better to the situation. They encourage clients to focus on their thoughts and how they dictate their reactions.
Financial Infidelity
Money management is one of the biggest reasons couples argue. Financial infidelity occurs when one partner hides their spending habits from the other. Physical infidelity and financial infidelity are both a breach of trust.
Couples should focus on therapists trained in building dynamic communication skills. The therapist will help the individual understand what prompted those behaviors. The therapist helps the couple have difficult conversations and supports them in building a stronger marital foundation.
Lack of Intimacy
When one partner has a change in their sex drive with little communication with the other partner, it can cause a disconnect within the relationship. A licensed therapist helps individuals recognize the circumstances that led to that change. The counselor works with the couple to identify their ideal sexual relationship.
A therapist can help the clients understand the potential underlying reasons behind the change – mental health, stress, illness, or medication. The counselor gives the couple the tools needed to communicate their needs openly and safely to each other.
Life Changes
Parents often find themselves in a challenging situation for the first few years their children have moved out of the home. Couples can find themselves experiencing communication frustrations as they progress through this transition and can benefit from marriage counseling. A therapist works with the family to help them process the varying emotions they may feel. Eventually, the couple can experience relief that their parental responsibilities have lessened. Finally, the couple can embrace the joy of exploring new activities at this stage. Until then, couples can experience symptoms such as:
- Sadness
- Grief
- Anger
- Loss of purpose
- Depression
- Anxiety
Parenting Conflicts
Raising children is one of the most stressful jobs a couple undertakes. Each person brings their history and beliefs about child-rearing. When any of these opinions conflict, challenges can arise between the couple. When an individual looks at how they were raised, it usually explains their behaviors. Partners need to learn to identify the reasons behind their beliefs. They then learn how to communicate and create a parenting plan that supports both parenting styles.
Added stress can occur when a child or partner is ill or has conditions that require specialized care. Therapy revolves around coaching parents to create effective communication strategies.
Grief Struggles
Grief can be debilitating for an individual or a couple. The relationship between the two individuals can suffer as one or both people work through the grieving process. Grief therapy is a challenging situation, as the therapist needs to help the couple work through many symptoms, such as:
- Reduced physical or emotional intimacy
- More frequent disagreements
- Breakdown in communication
- Depression
- Anxiety
Substance Abuse
Substance abuse counseling and medical treatment are necessary if one or both partners are experiencing substance abuse. While the individual is receiving crisis treatment for their addiction, the other partner can begin participating in therapy. A professional therapist can help the individual receive the medical treatment they need, such as:
- Crisis treatment
- Medical intervention
- Short- or long-term treatment facility
- Group counseling
WHOA Behavioral Health: Providing Couples with the Skills to Grow
Regardless of why you are seeking therapy, recognizing the need for one is the first step. WHOA Behavioral Health has a counselor who will meet your needs. They have specialists available to help support families through a mental health crisis. Their contacts within the medical community can help you receive fast medical treatment, should you require it.
WHOA supports couples as they work to improve and strengthen their relationships. They also provide many other counseling and therapy services to members of the community. And through Telehealth, they can reach those who are unable to meet in the office. Call or send an email to speak to someone about getting help to start living as the couple you want to be.
