Couples Therapy is a specialist form of counselling for couples who are experiencing emotional and psychological difficulties in their relationship. This form of relationship counselling is not about individuals, it is about the relationship and the therapist is working with that relationship.
In couples’ therapy or counselling the process involves discovering unconscious patterns that are being acted out within the dynamic of the relationship.
Often these dynamics have developed unconsciously as a reaction to parents’ behaviour patterns, creating a blueprint that a person then lives by.
Developing awareness of these patterns means learning to see when you are acting in ways that are self-defeating or destructive. Once you have developed awareness, you can then go on to choose to change those behaviours. Then by learning and adopting behaviour patterns that are supportive and caring, you learn to communicate more authentically. When two people are involved in this process together the results can be truly transformative.
A couple’s counsellor is not someone who simply sits and listens, she also has at her disposal a range of techniques and interventions that ensure firstly that both of you get a fair hearing, secondly that you get a more objective point of view and thirdly, an alternative interpretation of each partner’s responses. This is a powerful process that helps couples who may have become stuck move into a more positive state of mind.
