There’s a famous saying, “It’s easy to make relationships and tough to maintain it”, it is indeed true to some extent. When we are in a relationship, we thrive to make it work, however when two people are involved problems may arise. Couple Therapy can be beneficial when such problems start to create differences between the two. It is a type of psychotherapy in which a licensed therapist helps in rebuilding the bond in the relationship.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT): It helps by focusing on both the individuals’ thought patterns when they start to become a barrier into the relationship

Behavior Therapy: It involves in shaping the behavior of both the individuals in such way that it helps in building a strong relationship

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT): EFT aims to strengthen the attachment and bond within the partners. The therapist assists in recognizing and altering the behaviors that cause you to feel cut off.

Gottman Method: With this approach, both the spouses will learn how to solve problems and resolve areas of friction. It tries to increase partners’ level of intimacy and friendship quality.

In a relationship when conflict starts and we don’t find a possible way out of it, couple therapy helps in that. It helps in following ways:

• Couple therapy helps in making the partners understand each other’s point of view and approach, which leads in strong and mutual understanding
• It helps in turning the argumentation into conversation by improving the communication and listening skills
• It helps in managing the conflicts and strengthening the bond and the attachment towards each other
• It also helps in unlearning previous maladaptive coping and learning new and healthy skills to maintain the harmony of the relationship
• It also helps in restoring and maintaining the satisfaction in each others’ company which had been lost because of the continuous conflicts

Stigma Around Couple Therapy

People often ignore seeking couple therapy as they feel it is not healthy in involving a third person in their conflicts. They feel that the matters can be resolved on their own and it doesn’t require anybody’s help, however, it is not the case. When the help is being ignored for a prolonged period of time, the distance between the couple also increases. The disputes become more often and even happen for very petty things.

It weakens the emotional bond and basic attachment between the couples after continuous fights and dissatisfaction with each other. Many even end up in divorce but don’t want to consult a professional for the same because of the stigma around couple therapy.

Some think that with couple therapy, one partner will try to force the another to change or work according to the one, this is a myth around couple therapy. In couple therapy both the person are equally important and therapy revolves around helping them with mutual consent.