Couples Therapy & Marriage Counseling
What Is Couples Therapy?
Couples therapy or couples counseling focuses on navigating challenges in romantic relationships, including pre-marital, married, and separated couples. This can range from communication and sex problems to infidelity and life transitions, depending on your specific situation.
You and your loved one will meet with a mental health professional like ourself to discuss your issues and find practical, evidence-based ways to manage them.
Of course, your relationship doesn’t need to be in trouble to enjoy the benefits of couples therapy. As a counselor, We can also help you gain insight about yourself and your partner, discover a shared purpose, and strengthen your bond to prevent future problems.
Do we need Couples Therapy?
While some couples can sort out their differences, many refuse to confront their issues or let them bottle up until they can’t go on.
You are more than capable of overcoming obstacles, but sometimes you need a safe space to see, hear, and recognize each other. No judgement, no distractions, just you and your loved one speaking your truth with the guidance of a trained specialist—that’s what couples therapy is all about.
If you and your partner are experiencing any of these relationship problems, couples therapy can help you:
- Breakup, separation, or divorce
- Constant fights or arguments
- Commitment issues
- Differences in religion, values, or parenting styles
- Fertility challenges
- Financial difficulties
- Infidelity, lying, or hiding things from your partner
- Issues with children, in-laws, relatives, or friends
- Lack of intimacy (e.g., feeling disconnected, having sex problems)
- Poor communication
- Significant changes or life stressors (e.g., getting married, having a baby, changing jobs)
- Violence or abuse*
*Your safety comes first. If you are in an abusive or violent relationship, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1.800.799.7233) or visit this website.
Every relationship has room for improvement. Couples therapy can be an excellent alternative if you are not experiencing any of these problems but would still like support to grow, reignite the spark, and move your relationship forward.
How can Couples Therapy help us?
Couples therapy can help you address relationship difficulties, explore and communicate your needs, and deepen your trust and connection. It can also support you while considering a separation or rebuilding your life after parting ways. Sessions will be customized to your specific problems and goals.
Couples therapy can support you to:
Pinpoint Issues and Negative Relationship Patterns
The first step in couples therapy is to examine your dynamics and assess the status of your relationship. Your counselor may meet with you as a couple and then see each partner individually to ask questions and get to know you better. You will have the opportunity to share your story and concerns in a neutral space without criticism or prejudice.
The goal is to identify your key issues and any problematic patterns hindering your ability to talk, connect, and solve conflicts.
Recognize and Express Your Needs
As you peel off the layers of your relationship, you will be encouraged to recognize and communicate your needs. For example, you may experience a deep fear of losing your partner, which can spark jealousy and trust issues. Your therapist will support you to understand and voice these feelings while helping your partner listen and respond with empathy.
The idea is to coach you to express and hear each others’ emotional needs without turning them into an imminent conflict.
Improve Intimacy, Trust, and Communication
Once issues and needs are on the table, you can find healthy and effective routes to address them. Therapy can help you learn new skills and shift problematic patterns to increase intimacy and affection, rebuild trust and confidence, and improve communication habits.
You will gain tools to heal past wounds, create positive changes, and develop a shared meaning through various exercises, role-playing, and interventions.
Provide Divorce Counseling
Now, suppose you and your partner are considering separating or getting divorced. In that case, couples counseling facilitates open and honest conversations to make an informed decision about how to proceed. You may find a way back to each other or respectfully agree on how to end the relationship and move on.
Couples Therapy at Self-Compassion Pathways
At Self-Compassion Pathways, our mission is to support adults, couples, and families to lead a mindful and balanced journey. We offer couples therapy and individual therapy for anxiety, trauma, LGBTQ+ issues, and other specialties.
We have 10+ years of experience helping hundreds of couples embark on a new path. Our training includes Gottman Method, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and Imago Relationship Therapy (IRT), all considered evidence-based modalities of couples treatment. We also have experience in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), mindfulness, and other practices.
Our style is holistic, which means we treat every individual as a whole, looking at their thoughts, emotions, physical condition, and spirit. Self-compassion is a critical component of our practice, so we always approach treatment through a compassionate lens.
Couples therapy sessions are available virtually across Florida and Virginia, both in English and Spanish. Sessions are typically scheduled once a week, and treatment may last between 13 to 20 sessions. However, the frequency and duration of treatment will depend on your particular circumstances, needs, and progress in therapy.
If you or your partner are suffering or looking for support to foster your emotional and physical bond, We can help you!
Contact us or call us at (407)968-6534 to schedule an appointment today.
Finding a life partner can be a winding journey. You may go from the nerves of the first dates, and the thrill of the honeymoon phase, to the bliss of spending time with someone who truly sees you.
And of course, no relationship is perfect. You might also make mistakes or disappoint your partner. You may grow apart and become disconnected, wondering if you have anything in common anymore.
You might get irritable around each other, bickering over money, in-laws, work hours, and the dishes in the sink. Or you may break the trust you have built over the years, risking the foundation of your entire relationship.
Every love story faces unique struggles and trying moments. Overcoming them can either make your bond stronger or uncover the reality that maybe it’s time to part ways.
Whatever is ailing your relationship, We are here for you.