Relationship, Marriage and Divorce Therapy

Our relationships with other people are likely the most important aspects of our daily lives, so when we’re not getting what we want from them or they’re making us unhappy we are compelled to come up with ways of fixing them or addressing the factors that are causing the dissatisfaction. Marriage counseling or couples therapy are the general terms used to describe psychotherapy for both individuals and couples who want to focus specifically on the dynamics of their primary relationship.

Marriage counseling can include either member of the couple separately or together and generally focuses on the interactions and communication of the couple. This form of therapy is most helpful in assisting couples to improve the quality of their relationship by establishing a specific time to work on listening and speaking skills that create empathy and understanding. The therapist is not so much of a referee as a listener and director of the conversation that the couple is having. He or she can hear each side of the conversation a bit more clearly and objectively because the therapist doesn’t have a stake in one side or the other being right. The aim is in facilitating understanding and communication between the couple.

Sometimes a couple or an individual may come to help themselves through the difficult and painful process of ending a relationship or marriage. Therapy can give a couple the much-needed tools to work through the painful process of separation without making it more painful or destructive than it already is. When a couple has been together for some time, the dissolution of the relationship can often involve more than simply agreeing that the relationship is over and going off in separate directions. There can be the sale of the family home, issues relating to children and other situations that require clear and focused communication to achieve a clear end goal.

In these situations, having a time and place where you can feel safe, heard and understood can make all the difference in allowing you to get on with your life while minimizing tension and animosity.