When two people join together, sooner or later, there’s going to be a clash of views and personalities along the way. There are no guarantees of a bed of roses, nor is it a smooth ride to forever. That’s when therapy and professional help is needed. But going through a couple’s therapy can sometimes feel like you’re untangling a temperamental knot. Often, it won’t budge. Like an obstacle race, there are many hurdles as you navigate the path to successful couples therapy. They’re best threshed out so they can be helped effectively.
How to Overcome Couples Therapy Roadblocks
Communication Breakdowns
When the partners struggle to express themselves or listen effectively to each other, there’s a communication breakdown for sure. It needs a lot of help to overcome this couple-struggle. Active listening and open expression of feelings can help cure this dilemma. That is why experts recommend and encourage each partner to share their thoughts without judgment from the other. Cards of feelings or emotions are best laid on the table for both parties to see for themselves. It will create an environment of understanding and patience for both of them.
It’s best that they learn simple gestures of affirmation, like nodding and paraphrasing their words, to enhance communication. Harsh and demeaning remarks, most of the time, can either zip up or declare war on relationships. When couples learn to prioritize empathy and create a safe space for expression, they can bridge communication gaps in therapy. It will help foster a healthier and more understanding relationship.
Divergent Goals or Values
When partners have different aspirations or core beliefs, like religion or cultural beliefs, they usually experience little wars. Unless they declare a truce, life together every day will be more than a challenge. More often, these differences lead to conflicts and a sense of disconnection.
That’s why couples need to have an open discussion about their beliefs. These may seem tolerable at first, but it’s quite a mountain of a hurdle when common ground still needs to be reached. There’s a need for couples to find ways to compromise and have shared goals. It’s best for them to find and appreciate each other, their uniqueness, and their values.
Rula’s expert-guided couples counseling will help partners focus on shared values and acknowledgment of their differences. They will be encouraged to work together towards common objectives to help align their individual paths. Embracing each other’s differing goals and values contributes to a more aligned, harmonious, and understanding relationship.
Trust Issues
Sometimes, it just started from little misunderstandings or a lack of confidence in a partner’s reliability or honesty. Whatever the other partner may say will not be listened to nor trusted by the other. That’s why they cannot reach an agreement, and it’s a common roadblock to couples therapy.
Past betrayals or insecurities are often the causes of these trust issues. Overcoming these trust issues may involve a consistent effort to rebuild by talking about their feelings and concerns to foster better understanding.
Faith in each other can be restored over time with small, trustworthy gestures, like taking an after-dinner walk just to reconnect. Couples can also engage and benefit in impromptu dates, like hiking or overnight picnics, to share and talk more openly about little misunderstandings.
Addressing the root causes in therapy, building emotional intimacy, and setting realistic expectations can contribute to healing. Still, patience and mutual efforts to rebuild trust form the foundation of a healthier, more secure relationship moving forward.
External Stressors
Pressures from work, family relations, or life events are external stressors that can wear out even a seemingly solid relationship. They are the usual roadblocks to couples therapy because they make people distant and uncommunicative, if not grumpy, all the time.
That is why partners need to establish clear boundaries to manage pressures that can affect their relationship. Openly and personally discussing these stressors and mutual understanding can help them build resilience.
The therapy process can offer learnings about coping mechanisms, time management strategies, and ways to strengthen their bond against external challenges. They are taught how to face stressors together so they can effectively navigate difficulties and find ways to build harmonious relationships.
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