Couples Therapy
All couples who are either experiencing a crisis, going through significant life changes or wanting to relate better to one another. You may be wanting to find out whether to stay together or separate.
The key to effective therapy is motivation and willingness of both parties to work on their relationship. It is not uncommon for one party in the couple to make the first step in seeking help. However, if the other person is completely unwilling, it will be very difficult to do any productive work. This is not to say that one or both people won’t feel scared or resistant. These are normal feelings experienced by many when seeking a therapist’s support, especially if it is for the first time.
How can Couples Therapy Benefit Us?
The key to any healthy relationship is good communication. This may sound simple and yet it is surprising how few couples communicate well.
Couples therapy supports the couple in exploring with new and healthier ways of relating through effective communication and conflict resolution.
We do this by creating an environment where you feel you can speak openly and honestly in your partner’s presence. We will be interested in knowing more about your history (individual and as a couple) and the key factors that led you to develop some of the relational patterns which are keeping you stuck.
The couple’s therapist helps facilitate dialogue by listening equally to both parties, understanding the issues that you are faced with and working with you towards more effective communication. This is a collaborative process, whereby we jointly find out about your needs and goals, and work towards achieving them.
What Issues Can You Help With?
Some of the common areas couples seek support with include:
– Affairs
– Lack of emotional closeness or trust
– Couples who are in a business partnership
We are experienced at working with same sex and heterosexual couples and with polyamory through to monogamy. It is not our job to judge the choices you jointly make in your relationship, however, the key word here is jointly.
Whether you are seeking couple therapy or wish to work through your relationship issues as an individual, our psychotherapists can support you in evaluating what choices are an expression of you as an individual and how you can safely, but effectively, start to create a relationship based on communication, understanding and passion.
We have practices in Lewes and Hove and have clients from right across Sussex as well as London and further afield. To find out about the help Brighton & Hove Psychotherapy can offer get in touch with us today.
Further reading:
Our couples therapists have written several blog articles about relationships and working with couples.
For more information on Couples Therapy, take a look at our guide here.
