Heightened Awareness during Couples Counseling
We do many things out of rote in our lives: wake up, make the bed, make coffee, look for the car keys, etc. Often our professional lives are filled with seemingly monotonous tasks. It’s often difficult for us to shift out of that mode and increase our awareness when we enter couples counseling.
Here’s what one husband had to say:
I was frustrated, frankly, when we started. I thought we’d go there, my wife would do all the talking and the all-knowing counselor would tell us what to do. We’d go back home and things might be better. Instead, our counselor began asking me a bunch of questions and I felt really defensive. I thought I didn’t come here to talk about me! Then I thought, well, maybe I did. See, I had to participate in order for this to work. This wasn’t like going to the movies. This was my life, Nora’s life…our life. The counselor served as guidance but it was ultimately our responsibility to be present and do the work that was needed.
In addition to the work or “showing up” that’s required for marriage counseling, there’s also a general increase in your general overall awareness. Our habitual lives often take us away from our core. We don’t always take the time to realize our emotional states, sit with them, understand them. Instead we go on “autopilot” which is often safer and easier.
Couples counseling and learning the art of how to talk about your marriage and to your partner helps you to feel more present overall. It’s just another one of the benefits you’ll experience…an awakening.
Related Posts
- Body Awareness in Marriage Counseling
- Opening up your Perspective in Couples Counseling
- Is it Time for Couples Counseling?
- Expectations and Couples Counseling
- Couples Counseling Changes Individuals
