Lindsey Hoskins & Associates offers marriage counseling Kensington MD couples can benefit from. If you and your spouse or partner are considering marriage counseling, call us today to find out more.

Any relationship can have its ups and downs. However, couples who engage in marriage counseling in Kensington MD may be able to work through their issues. This in turn can strengthen a marriage and possibly allow them to avoid divorce.

Small Signs That You Should Seek Couples Therapy Kensington MD Can Provide

Sometimes it’s easy to see that your relationship or marriage could use some help; other times, it’s not so obvious. Contrary to popular belief, your relationship doesn’t have to be in dire need of a professional’s assistance when you seek therapy. In fact, many couples look for couples therapy Kensington MD has to offer simply because they’ve noticed small signs that they may be growing apart.

1. You’ve gone through a major life event or milestone. Something major — like having a child or dealing with the death of a close family member — can affect a relationship. Sometimes these events help a couple grow closer, but other times each individual deals with the event differently and has trouble connecting with their partner. Couples therapy in Kensington MD can help a couple understand how their partner might be processing a major life event and how to provide support in a positive way.
2. You keep having the same arguments without finding a resolution. Arguments are to be expected in a relationship, but failing to find resolutions can be a sign that you and your partner may benefit from couples therapy Kensington MD offers. If you’re fighting over minor issues all the time, this could also be a sign that there’s a deeper underlying issue that hasn’t been resolved. Working through these issues with a therapist can help you understand how to have healthy fights, how to apologize when you’re wrong, and how to accept an apology from your partner.
3. You’re afraid to talk about sensitive topics. As any therapist could probably tell you, this is another small sign that you should consider searching for couples therapy Kensington MD families trust. Marriages and relationships are about building trust and openness. When this starts to break down, it can become very difficult to talk about sensitive issues. When you’re comfortable with your partner, you shouldn’t feel afraid to talk about things like finances and intimacy.

Of course, you might also want to consider couples therapy Kensington MD depends on if you’ve noticed major changes or problems in your relationship. Big arguments, a lack of communication, and a lack of intimacy are all reasons that couples seek Kensington MD couples therapy. Partners may also want to try therapy if one spouse has been unfaithful or has been keeping secrets from the other.

Ultimately, there’s no single reason why you and your partner should look for a therapist. Each couple deals with life events and problems differently; something that may pose a major threat to one couple might be insignificant to another.

If you’re even remotely considering divorce, this can be a strong reason to speak to a therapist. Divorce, as an end result, can cause emotional and financial hardship not just for the couple but for the children as well. But does marriage counseling work? Let’s explore this question. For further discussion beyond this article, we welcome you and your partner to make an appointment with us for Kensington marriage counseling.

Is Marriage Counseling Effective?

Marriage counseling does not always heal the relationship enough to prevent divorce. However, even in scenarios where the marriage is too damaged to repair, marriage counseling can help ease the transition to a new chapter in each spouse’s life. It can also help prepare the couple for life after divorce, particularly if children are involved.

Some couples go to marriage counseling at the beginning of their committed relationship in order to learn tools for healthy communication. This proactive approach can greatly reduce the probability of developing serious issues as the marriage grows older.

For marriage counseling to be effective enough that divorce can be avoided, several things must occur.

1. Both spouses must be willing to make changes in their life on any number of levels.
2. Both spouses must be willing to respond to the clinician’s suggestions on how to work through issues and problem solve.
3. Both spouses must be open to saving the marriage rather than automatically pursue a divorce.

The Benefits of Marriage Counseling

Not only can marriage counseling save a committed relationship, it can offer additional benefits. This can come as a surprise to many people. When it comes to marriage counseling Kensington MD community members have experienced many success stories. Some of them include:

1. Improved physical health and the ability to focus on their job and other tasks. Because a troubled marriage can cause a high level of stress and anxiety, troubles at home often spill into other areas of our life. Medical studies have shown that stress can negatively affect our health. By dealing with the cause of our stress and anxiety, we can alleviate the symptoms.
2. Marriage counseling can be more effective and over a shorter period of time as compared to individual counseling. In addition, fewer counseling sessions can result in a cost savings. For some, if their spouse is not willing to engage in marriage counseling, individual counseling can be beneficial. While it may not address all the issues in the marriage, it can allow the spouse who is in therapy to work on their own issues. It can also help the marriage if they are open to sharing what is learned in individual therapy. In addition to marriage counseling Kensington MD residents have found that individual counseling instead of, or in conjunction with, can be of tremendous help.
3. Licensed family and marriage therapists usually charge less than psychologists and psychiatrists. Because finances can add stress to the marriage, not being able to afford therapy can be a Catch-22 situation. Call us at Lindsey Hoskins & Associates to discuss options that can make it possible to explore marriage counseling Kensington MD married couples have used to get them back on track.

Tips for Couples Attending Counseling Together

Couples counseling in Kensington MD can be a great option for those who are going through a troublesome patch in their relationship, but want to find a way to make things work. The role of a couple’s counselor is to help guide both partners to improving themselves, and thus the dynamic between them too. A partner’s attitude, personal reflection, and willingness to work through disagreements is a vital component of couples counseling sessions. Couples who want to see benefits from counseling may want to consider the following tips:  

#1 Attitude is Key to the Process

To improve your relationship, your attitude during the process plays a key role. Perhaps the easier step is figuring out what to do for your relationship, but the harder step after that is identifying what may prevent you from doing so. Looking at a problem in a different way than you had before, can be more effective than just trying to dig for a single solution. Kensington MD couples counseling may encourage each partner to reframe how they look at an issue, and whether they may be making incorrect assumptions about their partner’s behavior.

One of the most potentially challenging parts of couples counseling in Kensington MD is that both may need to alter their response to the issue, such as how they feel and think about what happened. Not many people consider how tweaking their perspective can open a new pathway to resolving the problem.

#2 Focus on Improving Yourself

It is human nature to want to change our partner instead of ourselves. Many couples walk into couples therapy with the idea that they are going to vent about all the ways their partner needs to change. This approach is likely to only make matters more tense between you and your other half. Kensington MD couples counseling can work best if you focus on how you want to improve yourself within the relationship.

You can only change yourself. If your partner is as dedicated as you are in healing the relationship, then he or she will be right alongside you trying to improve themselves too. Becoming whole and strong as an individual is what can result in obtaining that sense of connection again.

#3 Growth Can Come From Disagreements

The most profound growth can occur in times of muddy waters, dissatisfactions, and disagreements. Sometimes, conflict results in growth between partners, as they learn to manage these disputes and find out more about each other. Many partners may think that keeping feelings to themselves is the best way to maintain the peace in the relationship. This approach may be a quick route to the exact opposite. Eventually, resentments and built-up feelings are bound to erupt at one point or another.

People may be afraid to visit these places of intense feelings and share them with their partner and a counselor, out of worry it’ll make things worse. On the contrary, many couples may find that by getting through these difficult conversations in Kensington MD couples counseling they ultimately arrive at a stronger place than they were before.

Call Lindsey Hoskins & Associates to request an appointment with one of our clinicians. Discover the benefits of couples counseling Kensington MD young and mature adults have used to improve their lives.