Signs It Is Time For Marriage Counseling

When "marriage counseling" is spoken, many different feelings and fears may come up. Most people associate the idea of marriage counseling with divorce, seeing it as the final straw before two people who were once happy go their own way. Others think of themselves as divulging their deepest thoughts to a stranger, producing intense anxiety. But when you’re having trouble speaking to the other person in a relationship, it can be difficult to figure out the problems.

In reality, marriage therapy is simply a tool that two people can use to strengthen their relationship or address issues that influence how well the marriage is working, but when should you seek marriage counseling?  Here are a few signs that it may be time for you and your spouse to head to a counselor and seek marriage help. It may be what you need to save your marriage.

Lack Of Trust

We expect that something as serious as an extramarital affair or lying about finances will cause emotional hurt in a relationship and could be signs you need marriage counseling immediately. Still, many times an issue much smaller is enough to break bonds. Trust is something that is gradually built up over time but is also taken away quickly. When steps are not taken to restore that trust in a marriage, no matter how small the impacting event may seem, spouses can slowly drift apart, often becoming suspicious or resentful of one another.

If you and your spouse find it difficult to trust each other after going through a situation where the hurt was involved, a trained therapist can help you deal with the event and the emotions surrounding it. To have a successful relationship, you must be able to learn to trust in marriage. To create trust in their marriage, both husband and wife must work together. Marriage therapy can help both of you regain that trust.

Little Or No Communication

A lack of communication is more than just not talking to one another often; it also takes the form of frequent fighting, secret-keeping, and general disinterest for each other. If you find yourself withholding information from your spouse to avoid confrontation or if you have been accused of being difficult to talk to, a serious problem with communication may be at the core of your marriage. 

Dealing With An Enemy

In a relationship, it is completely normal not to always agree with your significant other. However, if it seems like you and your spouse are on opposite teams, or if you are seeing your spouse as the rival in your day-to-day life, your marriage is no longer a partnership. You come to see the other person in a relationship as the antagonist to your marriage. Are you looking at your spouse with the same disdain you would like an overbearing boss or telemarketer? Then it is time to reach out to a therapist who works in marriage therapy to identify why your relationship dynamic has changed.

Bad Habits Add Stress

No one is perfect, but if one spouse has developed bad habits like alcoholism, gambling, or addiction of any kind, their behavior can take a serious toll on the marriage. While marriage counseling therapy may not solve the underlying personal issues a loved one is dealing with (individual therapy addresses that), a marriage counselor in couples counseling can provide skills to work through the problem together and help each spouse maintain their individual boundaries through the healing process.

Personal Struggles Come Up

Anytime a spouse is going through something challenging, like a mental health crisis, or an episode of intense stress in their career, their partner needs to be by their side. Sometimes, personal issues are hard to understand without being directly affected by them, so if you or your spouse are struggling to empathize with one another, a marriage therapist working in couples counseling can give you the tools you need to become more supportive considerate.

Relationship Goals Change

All relationships change over time. Sometimes, what started as a unified vision between two people morphs into both parties wanting something completely different in their lives. In many couples, this signals a looming divorce, but a marriage counselor will help you determine if going your separate ways is necessary. If both partners commit to staying with one another, despite the new path their marriage has taken, a marriage counselor and marriage therapy can help navigate any challenges, adjustments, or communication barriers that spring up along the way.

Life-Changing Events Happen

Life-changing events, like the birth of a child, loss of a job, or death of a family, can shake the foundation of a relationship, and couples counseling can greatly help here. Major events can make us question our health, the choices we have made, or our ability to handle daily life, questions which may or may not put stress on a marriage or impart distance between spouses. If you or your loved one are dealing with a life-changing event, marriage counseling can work to keep both of you on the same page during the many mental, emotional, or physical transitions that may take place.

Thinking Of An Affair

It is possible to develop innocent feelings of attraction for others from time to time, but when those thoughts spiral into desires for physically or emotionally intimate encounters, seek marriage help. There are many reasons why the "grass looks greener" with someone else, which may range from physical attraction to current emotional needs being unmet by a spouse. A professional can evaluate why your marriage is no longer producing feelings of fulfillment the way it used to and how to get it back on track.

Less Time Spent Together

It is natural for relationships to become closer or drift apart for short periods of time. Still, if there has been a significant and consistent decrease in the amount of quality time you and your spouse spend together, it is important to uncover why. Common issues like sleeping in separate rooms, spending free time apart, or paying more attention to electronics and technology when together often signal a need to rekindle the relationship. Marriage therapy can help you find that spark between you again.

Not Sure If It Is Time For Marriage Counseling?

Starting couples counseling can be an uncomfortable decision, especially if only one spouse is pushing the issue. Remember that just because two people decide marriage counseling is right for them, it does not mean that the marriage is somehow on the fast track to divorce or that the marriage is guaranteed to survive. Marriage counseling is simply a tool to bring two people closer together. If you are on the fence, keep in mind the following:

No Issue Is Too Small

Sometimes a relationship struggles in a certain area, but otherwise is a healthy partnership between two people who genuinely want to be together. Marriage counseling is not just for serious make-it-or-break situations like cheating and issues with money or physical intimacy. Therapy services can tackle day-to-day issues like differences in parenting and poor communication too. No couple is perfect, and every marriage has something it can work on to become stronger. Taking advantage of marriage counseling for "small issues" is perfectly okay.

It Is Okay To Take Your Time

It is also okay not to be ready for couples counseling. Making marriage stronger takes time, and marriage counseling is just one part of an ongoing process. If you and your spouse are really on the fence about attending therapy services, start with just one appointment, or visit multiple therapists in your area for an initial assessment.  Finding the right match may take some time but having a therapist you both can trust will likely produce better results.

Individual Therapy Helps Too

If one spouse is struggling with a personal issue that affects the marriage (mental illness, addiction behaviors, etc.), individual therapy should also be taken advantage of. Marriage therapy couples come into a marriage with their history, beliefs, and challenges that should be worked on individually. Sometimes an in-depth personal look at how one's past is affecting their current relationship is needed. If you or your spouse are dealing with something that may benefit from individual therapy, bring that up with your marriage counselor.

Physical Violence Is Never Okay

If physical violence is a factor in your relationship, it is important to get help right away. A trained mental health professional can help a specific individual with anger issues or patterns of abuse through intense intervention but put one's life at risk. At the same time, that help is sought is dangerous. If you are fearful of your spouse, do not wait for a therapist. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline now at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).

The Marriage Counseling Disclaimer

For most marriage therapy couples, avoiding divorce is the primary reason for attending marriage counseling, but therapy does not save all marriages. While uncovering deeper truths about your marriage in counseling, you and your spouse may decide it is best to go your separate ways. Accepting this as a possibility is important when deciding if you should pursue services.

As you can see, there are many times when marriage therapy is a helpful tool in a relationship. There is a lot to keep in mind when deciding whether marriage counseling will work for you, but you can take comfort in the fact that marriage counseling does not automatically equal divorce. If both partners are willing to work through their issues with one another, no matter what they are, therapy can be an incredible tool that makes a marriage stronger in the long run.