Can couples counselling help you say what you really mean?

Couples counselling can be an uncomfortable process. Couples most often arrive with one or both partner feeling apprehensive about the prospect of the details of their relationship being revealed to a third party. It is a privileged position for a counsellor to be in, we make them part with the intimate details of the way we relate to those we love.

In the early stages of couples work, clients can be hesitant to say what they really mean.  The immediacy of the situation, where your partner might take a different view and say so, can be a bit daunting. It is the job of your counsellor to set you both at ease and to find ways to make open communication compelling and safe.

If you have a clear goal for your couples work, and you know what benefits you are hoping to get, this can help to motivate honest conversations. Most often couples come to counselling to make things better, and there is a lot of love in the room. Remembering your intentions can be useful when the going gets tough.

If you can open up and say what is true for you in therapy, the benefits of this will be felt in your relationship more widely. Trying out and honing new ways of communicating with the support and encouragement of a counsellor can be an important way to change your relationship and bring more honesty and life to the way you share things.

Couples counselling can be funny, moving, and poignant. It can be a lively, dynamic process where much is said, and much is changed. As with anything, you get out what you put in, so being prepared to be vulnerable, and to learn, are important ingredients for making progress.

If you want to be free to talk about what you really mean and to enjoy the spontaneity and joy of the honest relationship that may result, then couples counselling may be something to consider.