Contrary to media and public opinion, counseling is not saved for the weak, broken or mentally ill. Taking care of ourselves is a challenging, ongoing process, so it’s no wonder people in relationships look to counseling to take care of their bond. Counseling and therapy are in fact beneficial strategies for developing and maintaining healthy relationships. Also, because relationships are organic — and no one is perfect — attending relationship counseling can help open lines of communication between people, or even introduce a new means of communication altogether. As a clinic leading relationship counseling in Reno, NV, we’d like to share a few points that will inform your therapy expectations and overall experience.
The Financial Factor
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists are cheaper than psychologists or psychiatrists, which is a major plus if one of your relationship problem involves finances. Additionally, a study found that a therapist’s degree might not be as important in client satisfaction as finding the right therapist is. In cases where clients were restricted by insurance options, clients found that the social worker received equal amount of client satisfaction as the psychiatrist.
Counseling Is NOT A Fix-All
Therapy exists to mend broken relationships. However, in the process of unveiling problems, the negative might overshadow the healing, and many couples decide it’s just not worth the effort. This is not something people like to hear, but the numbers show nearly ⅓ of couples who attend marriage and family therapy get divorced after 4 years. When people come to counseling, they are expecting the sessions to save their marriage. The hard truth is, sometimes counseling reveals fundamental issues that would solve themselves if the couple were to separate.
Emotionally Focused Therapy
Emotionally focused therapy appears the biggest help for couples, according to testimonials. Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) helps couples to understand one another’s emotional responses while also reorganizing their own responses for clearer, kinder communication. EFT has proven to be equally effective as cognitive behavioral therapy. Ask your therapist if she specializes in EFT.
The Sooner The Better
Couples who seek therapy earlier in the relationship statistically experience more satisfaction than those who wait. While there isn’t limited evidence backing this, therapists and couples have claimed that waiting until problems are too advanced creates a deeper hole to climb up from, making the therapy process more complex and problem packed.
Doing Your Part
For relationship counseling to work, each participant must be emotionally present and willing to participate. If everyone isn’t on board, then there isn’t a suitable foundation to begin work together. Come to each session with the intention of making progress, listening actively and communicating openly.
Outside the Session Room
The most effective therapy transcends the session room, with couples practicing their learned tools in everyday life.The therapist will likely assign “homework” or areas to focus on at home. Do your part to take this work to heart — it will only benefit you in the long term.
To learn more about Healing Minds family and marriage therapy, head to https://healingminds.com/.