What To Expect From A Couples Counselling Session

It is not unusual for couples to go through turbulent periods in their relationships and experience a lack of communication and intimacy. It may also happen that you and your partner cannot fix the issue yourselves, so you need professional help. This is definitely not something you should feel embarrassed about, as going for counselling can provide both parties with the tools they need to grow and heal.

Couples counselling exists so that you and your partner can learn to understand and communicate better to save your relationship. Counselling is designed to help create an open and caring foundation where you can start to bridge the gap in your relationship.

Read on for more information on what to expect and how you can prepare ahead.

Open Mind

Firstly, come with an open mind and the attitude to engage with the counsellor and your partner. Relationship counselling is an environment to talk about your conflict without fear of bias or judgement.

First Session

This session is where the ground rules and boundaries for the relationship counselling are set. You and your partner must expect your therapist to cover confidentiality, reporting situations, cancellation policies and what their methods are. This is an information gathering session and past history examination.

How Sessions are Conducted

Therapists have their own individual strategies for couples counselling, but you can expect several common types of methods to help you and your partner during the process:

• Open discussion on difficult topics
• Sharing feelings
• Analysing behavioural patterns and communications methods
• Techniques on how to improve communication
• Role-playing
• Role modelling
• Exploring childhood and family history
• Pinpointing discrepancies in your and your partner’s behaviour

Undertaking Tasks in between Sessions

During the process of couples counselling, you can expect your therapists to assign you and your partner tasks. These tasks could be homework, writing a dairy, spending an hour together discussing your interests or performing physical activities together.

The End of the Sessions

After all the sessions, you and your partner will have a better understanding of each other and the struggles you both face. You will have been given the tools to help all parties to communicate better and engage during an argument without trying to tear each other down. You may also find that the intimacy is back and the relationship is more open.

Couples counselling is not the last attempt at making things work.It is a process designed to guide and teach partners to communicate better, gain new levels of understanding, and build a solid foundation for your relationship. Often the source of problems in your relationship is not that you do not care or love your partner, but that you just simply do not know how to communicate what you each need and want.

If you feel that you and your partner need couples counselling, contact us for more information.

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