Couples therapy, also known as marriage counselling, is a specific type of psychotherapy geared towards helping couples. Relationships in general have complex dynamics, and couples might find that they can benefit from getting professional help with navigating their issues.
While every relationship is unique, many of the conflicts and stressors that can cause strain in a relationship have been studied at length. Techniques have been developed to explore root causes of these conflicts, improve communication skills, identify negative patterns of behaviour, and improve trust and intimacy with partners. By learning and practising these techniques, couples are able to reap the many benefits of couples therapy in Singapore.
1. Deeper Understanding Of Relationship Dynamics
Going for therapy allows couples to take a step back and look at their relationship through an objective lens. They can then have a deeper understanding of their relationship dynamics and how it may positively or negatively influence patterns of behaviour.
Understanding these dynamics leads to couples seeing the roles that each of them plays in the relationship. Does one person often have more power over the other? Does one partner feel that he/she is always acquiescing to the other’s demands? Are both partners finding that they face gridlock on the same issues, leading to constant conflict?
Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the relationship, and the dynamics that drive them, are often the first crucial step for couples to find ways to improve their relationship through marriage counselling sessions.
2. Better Communication Skills
Good communication is at the heart of any stable and fulfilling relationship. Miscommunication, or a lack of communication, can often cause fractures even between otherwise happy couples. However, improving communication in a relationship sometimes requires the help of a professional.
Therapy can function as a safe space for partners to bring up past and present problems in a contained manner. The therapist acts as an objective, neutral sounding board so that couples can effectively discuss their problems and feelings to come to a workable solution together. Sometimes, there are no solutions to the couple’s problems, and facilitating communication that seeks to understand each person’s perspectives prevents the relationship from entering a gridlock, which often leads to resentment and loss of trust.
Couples therapy can also equip relationship partners with communication skills that they can carry with them even outside of therapy sessions. The onus is then on couples to effectively practise and utilise these skills to improve their relationship.
3. Restore Trust
If trust has been lost in a relationship, it becomes very difficult to move forward in a positive manner. Infidelity, financial difficulties, unreliability, lack of emotional support, and past traumatic incidents can all contribute to an erosion of trust.
Couples counselling can help restore trust in a relationship by encouraging open and honest communication. By exploring the reasons why trust was broken in the first place and setting new boundaries, couples can begin the process of healing. Having trust in your partner gives couples a feeling of safety and security in their relationship which can serve as the foundation to build stronger bonds.
4. Deepen Intimacy And Connection
Marriage counselling in Singapore is sometimes viewed negatively, as it is commonly used to help couples with relationship troubles. However, many couples who have successfully undergone therapy often find it a positive experience overall. In fact, couples do not need to wait until serious troubles arise before seeking help. Taking pre-emptive measures at going for marriage counselling early on helps couples to deepen their relationship and connection with each other.
For some couples who have been together for a long time, they might realise that they’ve lost the spark in their relationship. Working together to resolve conflicts, understanding each other’s needs, restoring trust, and improving communication, all help to renew the connection to one another which leads to stronger bonds and deeper physical and emotional intimacy.
Couples counselling alone cannot fix a relationship. It can however provide partners with the right insights, skills, and tools to change unhealthy dynamics and improve trust and understanding. These benefits provide a strong foundational platform for couples to build strong and meaningful connections and increase relationship satisfaction.
There may be situations where despite the best efforts by both parties, divorce is on the cards. Seeking divorce counselling may be helpful in such situations to support one party, or both parties, especially when there are differing and strong views about the children caught in the middle. Seeking divorce counselling in such a situation would help the couple go their separate ways with less impact on the children.
At Redwood Psychology, our mission is to help clients through difficult patches in their lives by utilising scientifically supported therapy methods. If you’re looking to book couples therapy or divorce counselling sessions in Singapore with our clinicians, reach out to us via our contact us page to make an appointment.