Individual and Couple’s Counseling - The Basics
Many couples are interested in marriage counseling but don’t know the first thing about it. Because of this lack of knowledge, they avoid it, afraid of what might happen. Terms like “head shrinking” don’t help us much either, conjuring up a local witch doctor, shaking rattles around your head (nothing against witch doctors - they serve an important societal purpose as well!)
If you are totally new to the idea of therapy, here’s some of the basics:
Therapy sessions are usually 45-50 minutes in length, one or more times per week. The number of sessions depends on the types of difficulties experienced by clients – symptomatic relief can often be achieved in a few sessions, longer and more lasting changes in negative behavior patterns might take a year or longer, and depth life issues might require several years to overcome.
Many different goals have been identified by psychotherapists, such as:
* Developing insight into problems
* Learning to communicate more effectively
* Learning to resolve both internal and interpersonal conflicts
* Managing, reducing or relieving symptoms of emotional distress
* Changing behaviors to improve social, relational or vocational functioning
* Personal growth and development
* Reconstructing a life damaged by faulty early life experiences
Counseling needn’t be something to fear. After the first session, many couples experience a genuine sense of relief and a “Why didn’t we do this earlier?” attitude. Knowing what you can expect is half the battle. Once you realize that help is only a small step away, any fears you have concerning therapy fade away.
