Couples come to therapy for all kinds of reasons. Some of the most common are listed below, but you don’t need to be in crisis or have a specific “issue” to benefit from couples therapy. Many couples come simply to keep a good relationship strong and to build better relationship habits as life changes. Below are some of the areas we work on together, though this list isn’t exhaustive. If you don’t see your concern here, reach out and we can talk about whether therapy can help.
Even strong relationships can become stuck in patterns of misunderstanding and defensiveness. Sometimes you feel that your partner just doesn’t get you. Therapy can help couples communicate more openly and effectively, expressing their needs and concerns with greater clarity and developing healthier ways of listening and responding to one another.
Every couple experiences conflict, but recurring arguments can leave partners feeling frustrated, and distant. Therapy can help identify the patterns underlying these conflicts and develop more productive ways of working through disagreements.
You may love your partner but still feel that something is missing emotionally. Therapy can help partners become more vulnerable with one another, better understanding each other's inner experiences and creating a deeper sense of emotional closeness and security.
Discovering or revealing an affair can profoundly disrupt a relationship and raise difficult questions about trust and commitment. Therapy can provide a space to process what happened, understand the patterns and circumstances surrounding it, and determine what rebuilding trust might look like.
Preparing for marriage involves more than planning a wedding. Couples may benefit from talking openly about communication, conflict, finances, family, intimacy, expectations, and the values they want to build their life around. Premarital therapy can help couples strengthen their relationship and develop tools for navigating challenges before they arise.
Marriage, parenthood, career changes, relocation, illness, loss, or other major transitions can place new demands on a relationship. Therapy can help couples adapt to these changes and maintain a strong sense of connection as their lives evolve.