What Relationship Therapy Can and Cannot Do
Relationship therapy is one of the many services we provide here at Psych Blossom. It can take many forms. We counsel married couples struggling with tough times. We also work with romantic couples who aren't married. Even singles who struggle in their relationships come to us for relationship therapy.
If you are considering relationship therapy yourself, you should know going in what it can and cannot do for you. Having realistic expectations goes a long way toward making the most of every therapy session.
Primarily a Talking Therapy
Before we get into what relationship therapy can and cannot do, it is important to understand just what it actually is. Relationship therapy is primarily talking therapy. When it involves couples, we like to start by meeting with each person separately. This allows us to get to know them as individuals before we bring them together.
Therapy sessions revolve around conversations. There may or may not be things to do at home during the week, depending on the goals set by the therapist and client. There will probably be a healthy mix of laughing, crying, and experiencing all the other emotions that come with relationships.
What It Can Do for You
So now the money question: what can relationship therapy do for you? At the top of the list is improving communication skills. As we all know, healthy communication is one of the hallmarks of healthy relationships. Often times though, people in need of relationship therapy also need help improving their communication skills. So communication is a priority.
Relationship therapy can also:
help couples learn how to act as a team
provide a basis for developing common goals
encourage those thoughts and feelings that make couples feel connected
help reignite the passion partners once felt for one another
help partners feel and express more compassion toward one another.
These are all positive things that make it possible for couples to overcome their struggles. Relationship therapy is designed to foster these things through open and frank discussions based on transparency, honesty, and taking ownership of one's thoughts, feelings, and actions.
What It Cannot Do for You
The harder part of this discussion involves what relationship therapy cannot do for you. Far too often, people approach relationship therapy with the idea that it will 'fix' a broken relationship. But it cannot.
As human beings, we make or break our relationships. When relationships are broken, only we can fix them. Relationship therapy is one tool for doing just that. If it helps, think of a box of hand tools you might have in the garage or basement. Those tools don't fix a leaky faucet. You fix the faucet by using the tools.
Once again, this is why relationship therapy is primarily a talking therapy. It is designed to help couples and singles both identify the relationship tools in their box and how to use them to fix what's broken. If you can grasp relationship therapy from that angle, you will have more realistic expectations of its ability to help you and your partner.
We Think It's Worth a Try
If you are struggling in a relationship and have just assumed that things are too far gone, we would encourage you to give it a second thought. Plenty of difficult relationships have been helped through relationship therapy. We think it's worth a try.
Relationship therapy can help by equipping you with the tools you need to maintain healthy relationships. If you are willing, it can do a lot. Just know that relationship therapy cannot do the work for you. That is something you have to do for yourself.
