Marriage counseling, also known as couples therapy, is a common form of therapy for couples who face problems with their marriage, by helping them acknowledge and sort out their disputes. With the best marriage counseling Staten Island, couples can make important decisions to reconstruct and reinforce their marriage or choose to divorce.
Marriage counseling is carried out by trained counselors called marriage or family therapists. These counselors have usually acquired postgraduate degrees, while several of them have earned credentials from the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT).
Marriage counseling usually lasts for a short period. The particular therapy plan varies depending on the individual. Normally, both partners attend each session, but it is not uncommon for only one partner to decide to work with a marriage counselor.
Post Contents
Why Attend Marriage Counseling In Staten Island
Marriage counseling can be helpful for all couples, regardless of their relationship status or sexual preferences.
For some couples, marriage counseling can help them understand their partner better while also strengthening their relationship. A subtype of marriage counseling called premarital counseling is often used by couples planning their marriage, as it helps them to further understand each other and resolve any conflicts before getting married.
Most often, couples look for marriage counseling to sort out issues in their relationships. Some of these problems include:
- Problems in their sexual life
- Anger management
- Issues with communication
- Unfaithfulness
- Alcohol or drug abuse
- Problems with child upbringing or stepfamilies
Another use of Staten Island couples therapy is in occasions of domestic abuse. However, if you are facing an abusive situation that has spiraled out of control, counseling in itself is not enough. You should contact a local center for crisis or the police and seek out further support.
Get Further Help & Support With Your Concerns
How To Prepare For Marriage Counseling
The only preparation required is to find a marriage counselor that works well for you. You can take suggestions from people close to you, different agencies for mental health, or your personal doctor. You should also visit a few different counselors to ensure you find the right fit for you. We highly recommend that you try Regain, our preferred online marriage counseling partner.
If you or your partner are suffering from a mental health issue, there is help with Staten Island mental health counseling.
How Marriage Counseling Staten Island Works
The main objective of couples counseling is to help each partner get more familiar with the other which, in turn, will lead them to solve their issues more efficiently. During the first few sessions, the couples therapist may choose to speak with each partner separately or together, which will help them provide feedback on the couple’s relationship. After that, the therapist may set specific goals or a therapy plan to ensure each partner’s expectations. Several of the positive results of marriage counseling hinge on the couple’s commitment and motivation to the process of therapy.
With every completed session, each partner learns to listen and communicate better. Couples also discover new ways to support and help each other. However, disputes might also emerge during counseling. The counselor should ensure neutrality and stay away from taking the side of one partner. As part of the treatment process, several couples therapists provide additional sessions for each partner individually, while others might provide them if you ask for them.
Couples counseling can be held in a few different settings including individual sessions, online, group sessions, and university therapy centers. In general, sessions are held weekly. However, the program is subject to change depending on the therapy goals, the couple’s availability, and whether they are attending private or group sessions.
While properly healing a broken relationship can take a lot of time, couples counseling is usually short-term. In the end, therapy will go on for as long as the couple is dedicated to the goals set at the beginning of the therapy process, or up until they resolve their issues.
If you are dealing with a personal mental health issue, you may want to consider seeing the best Staten Island psychologist.
How Effective Is Staten Island Couples Therapy?
Research shows that couples therapy can be beneficial for most relationships. Specifically, a study assessing the effects of therapy on marital contentment showed that, after 5 years, about 48% of couples improved their relationship or even completely resolved their problems. Approximately 14% of couples did not experience a change in their relationship, while about 38% experienced a further decline in their relationship during the same amount of time.
The best results from couples therapy come when both parties are willing to better their relationship and commit to the treatment process. If one of them is not fully dedicated, refuses to participate, or is outright abusive and violent, progress is severely hampered. Another factor is whether both partners are ready to make changes in their lives and perspectives. If one of the partners only anticipates change from the other then treatment might not be effective.
Final Thoughts
According to most couples therapists, it is ideal to look for couples counseling whenever dissatisfaction emerges in the relationship. A small problem does not need to turn into a large crisis to seek therapy. Several couples avoid considering marriage counseling Staten Island until a problem perseveres for six years on average. By then, the deterioration of the relationship is much harder to fix.
Couples therapy can also be helpful for couples who have already decided on the future of their relationship. On the one hand, healthy couples might look for therapy to discover new ways to connect on an emotional level. On the other hand, couples who have already chosen to end their relationship might seek counseling to separate peacefully.
Premarital counseling Staten Island is also often chosen by couples who are engaged and plan to be married, to iron out any differences or disputes that might cause discontent in their marriage. During therapy sessions, a couple can talk about each other’s values, what they expect, and differing opinions they might have. With premarital counseling, couples can discover issues that they might have, otherwise, not wanted to address, thus ensuring compatibility between them before marriage.
Get Further Help & Support With Your Concerns
Staten Island Mental Health Counseling