Couples therapy can benefit all couples, regardless if they’re caught in conflict or sailing smoothly through life. Weekly 50-minute sessions with a trained clinician provide a safe space for you and your partner to unravel and discuss any part of your relationship. Whether you would like to sort through a minor argument from earlier in the day or a larger ongoing disagreement, or are looking to improve your communication or overall relationship, couples therapy can help.
While some couples begin therapy during a time of low tension, others begin when the conflict has reached a certain point. Reasons for initiating therapy vary, but there are several situations in which couples therapy would greatly support a relationship.
If you and your partner are experiencing any of the following, it’s worth looking into couples therapy, whether onsite or through telehealth platforms:
More frequent or intense arguing
If you’ve asked friends or family for advice regarding growing tension between you and your partner, you might have been told once or a few times that conflict is normal.
While disagreements are to be expected in healthy relationships, arguments that increase in occurrence or become more intense are a sign of hidden cracks. These cracks can be mended with a relationship tune-up, or an honest discussion with your partner about the disconnect causing heightened tension, but sometimes it’s overwhelming or intimidating to face without guidance.
Arguments with your partner can feel very different than arguments with others in your life. Your emotions might feel heavier, more impactful, and perhaps impossible to sort through. It can be shocking when difficult arguments break out during a long-term relationship. The first time an argument cycles back and becomes a major point of contention might make you question the future of your relationship. Couple therapy can help you work through any argument, however long it has been building.
Approaching major life changes
At times life can feel slow, inching forward with monotony. Other times, life can feel perfect with little to worry about—until change hits and suddenly you’re making difficult decisions with your partner. As a couple considering marriage, you might face long discussions about wedding plans and costs, choosing where you’ll live, and whether you’ll plan for a family. Important conversations about married life can reveal tension you weren’t aware about until the moment.
Regardless of how long you’ve been together, you’ll face major decisions in all aspects of life, such as when and where to move in together, how to make it as a dual-career couple, and the right time to consider marriage—or if marriage is the right path for the two of you.
As life changes, so do you and your partner. Areas in which you previously agreed on could become new areas of tension. You might completely pivot on a decision that wholly changes your life, and thus your partner’s life. When these changes become too much to handle on your own, a couples therapist can extend a guiding hand to pull you through the fog to a clear space where you can think.
Something just feels off
Even if you’re not sure about what’s going on within your relationship but you know something’s off, a couples therapist can help you locate the cause. Often, the general feeling that something isn’t right is a symptom of an underlying issue that hasn’t yet been identified. Over time the issue could reveal itself or become recognizable. Couples therapy can get you to that place of knowledge sooner and with the tools needed to comprehend your circumstances.
Blackhawk Family Development Center
At Blackhawk Family Development Center, we offer treatment that goes beyond symptom relief by establishing a resilient foundation with your partner. All treatments are personalized and fluid, meaning that as your relationship changes, so does your approach to strengthening your unique connection to your partner. Contact us today to schedule a couple’s therapy intake session.