Marriage & Couples Counselling

What’s Marriage and Couples Counselling?

Marriage and couples’ counselling is a type of therapy aimed at supporting couples in moving their relationship forward toward their goals – whether that looks like better communication, more intimacy, repair after infidelity or other betrayals, coping with life transitions, or an improved ability to manage conflict.

Couples’ counselling is not just for partners who going through a rough patch. It can also be a wonderful way of improving what is already working and finding other ways to connect and grow closer. Entered into proactively before major problems arise, couples’ counselling can also be an excellent way to protect your relationship and build a foundation of trust and intimacy that will serve you for years to come.

If you’re struggling in your relationship or are looking to evolve or grow your bond, you may be wondering if marriage and couples’ counselling would be a good next step. 

Benefits of Couples Counselling

Couples’ counselling has been shown to be very effective. Some of the benefits of couples’ counselling include:

1) Improved ability to communicate.

You’ve heard it said before. “Communication is the key to a successful relationship.” Unfortunately, for many of us, we were never taught how to be effective in sharing our thoughts, feelings, preferences, needs, and desires. A skilled couples’ counsellor can support you in learning how to listen, validate, reflect, compromise, and speak about the issues impacting you and your relationship.

2) Develop a stronger bond and deeper intimacy.

Lack of intimacy (both emotional and physical) or differences in desire are common reasons that couples seek out therapy. Therapy can help you to learn about one another’s unique ways of giving and receiving love and help you to find a common ground where true intimacy and a deeper connection can thrive.

3) Learn how to resolve conflict effectively.

Conflict resolution skills are essential for every couple. Many couples believe that not ever having a fight is a sign of a successful relationship, but conflict in relationships is inevitable. The research shows that, rather than avoiding conflicts, the bigger issue is often the ways couples go about resolving their differences that can point to couples growing together or growing apart. Couples’ counselling can be very helpful in teaching couples how to respond to and resolve their conflicts in ways that keep them on the same team, rather than pitting them against one another.

4) Heal from relationship ruptures.

When trust is shattered, often due to infidelity, financial betrayals, and dishonesty, it can feel like your relationship will never get back on the right track. Couples’ counselling can help to work towards restoring the trust in your relationship and healing the wounds that pulled you apart. Couples’ counselling can also help to protect your relationship from future ruptures by helping couples take an honest look at the dynamics, vulnerabilities, and strengths each of them brings to the relationship.

5) Navigate difficult life transitions.

Life is full of challenging changes. Whether you’re new parents struggling to connect in those blurry postpartum months, hoping to start your marriage on a solid foundation, struggling to reconnect after the kids have moved out, or facing the uncertainty of what retirement will look like, couples’ counselling can help you to smooth out the bumps in your relationship and keep your connection strong as you navigate these tougher seasons of life.

6) Deepen your knowledge of yourself and your partner.

Couples’ counselling provides a safe place for deeper exploration that may not be doable in your day to day lives. Your couples’ counsellor can help you get to know your own and your partner’s needs, understand your role in your dynamic, explore previously unchartered territory like sexual fantasies, consider how your own family history might be showing up in your relationship, and explore future dreams or goals together.

Couples Counselling in BC and Across Canada

At Sage Mental Health, we understand how important your relationship is to you. Our qualified relationship therapists are here to help you sort through your relationship concerns and grow your bond in ways you may have thought could never come to pass. We offer online and telephone counselling support to clients across BC and Ontario and in certain provinces where counselling therapy is unregulated (currently, this is the case in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon, North-West Territories, Nunavut and Newfoundland, and clients from these regions are welcome to inquire). We also offer in-person couples counselling support in Vancouver, Kelowna and Hope, BC.

We are happy to offer a complimentary, 15-minute consultation for you to explore your concerns and goals, and any questions you may have about couples’ counselling. Reach out today to [email protected]!