What Is the Most Effective Form of Couples Therapy?
If you’re like others seeking out couples therapy, you know relationships are hard work and sometimes need help. However, we believe they’re still worth fighting for! Many people who look into marriage counseling or couples therapy want to put in the work to improve their relationship but get scared that it’ll drive them and their partner further apart. And while there are no specific types of couple therapy that work best for everyone, there are several couples therapy techniques to try that can make your relationship stronger than ever.
Your therapist will draw from and combine these techniques (plus others!) in a customized plan that targets your relationship’s unique needs and goals. Let’s review some of the techniques.
What Kind of Therapy Is Best for Couples?
There is no one-size-fits-all couples therapy. In fact, the best couples therapy is adjusted to fit the needs of your relationship. That’s because each relationship, its past and challenges, and the people in it are unique. When you go to couples therapy, your therapist may decide to try out one or a combination of a few of these techniques to renew your relationship:
- Gottman Method Couples Therapy: This technique works to break poor communication habits that hurt relationships, such as criticism and stonewalling, through methods such as love maps and positive perspectives. This strategy will improve communication between significant others and allow their relationship to reach a deeper level of trust and intimacy.
- Developmental Model of Couples Therapy: Just like children have developmental stages, so do relationships. When partners are at different stages of intimacy, the relationship may start to feel disjointed. This technique works to reconnect partners and assist them in growing together towards common goals.
- Imago Therapy: Our childhoods shape who we become as adults. That also means that our childhoods can affect how we approach our relationships, which sometimes causes disconnects between partners. This technique helps individuals separate past experiences from their current relationship, work through negative coping strategies, and emotionally mature to build trust and connection with their significant other.
- Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy: This technique suggests that human experiences center around emotions, that this is how we structure our lives. It aims to make the emotional bonds between a couple stronger so that they can withstand any issues that may arise now or down the road.
- Behavioral Marital Therapy: Positive reinforcement can greatly influence how people act, whether they are actions that should be perpetuated or not. This technique teaches partners to positively reinforce good behavior so that communication between the two can improve.
You do not have to go into your first couples therapy session with a specific technique in mind. Your therapist is an expert who can determine the best route for you and your significant other to take to reinforce your relationship.
What Is the Goal of Couples Therapy?
The main goal of couples therapy is to rekindle the spark between you and your partner and to strengthen that relationship. It involves:
- Practicing good communication
- Building trust
- Working through issues as a team
- Breaking bad habits
- Boosting intimacy
- Learning how to work towards greater life goals together
- Overcoming past individual complexities that harm your relationships
When looking for the most effective form of couples therapy, make sure to seek out a therapist with a pro-relationship mindset. That means that the therapist works to help you repair your relationship when possible. You won’t have to be scared of a relationship-friendly therapist encouraging you and your significant other to split up. At Well Marriage, our goal is to bring you closer together so you can achieve your relationship and life goals together.
That said, you and your partner should also have couples therapy goals and objectives in mind when beginning your sessions, goals that focus on building up the other person and the relationship overall, rather than goals to “win” couples therapy or to win the therapist over to your side. Seeking out couples therapy means that you’re willing to put in the work for your relationship. If you and your partner do that work, couples therapy is sure to work for you.
What Is the Success Rate of Couples Therapy?
According to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, over 75% of people who see a marriage or family therapist experience an improved relationship with their significant other. 90% of people report an improvement in their emotional health, and almost 66% experience an improvement in physical health. Couples therapy can work wonders for your relationship as long as you put in the effort and have the right therapist on your side. Finding a skilled therapist who specializes in working with couples can boost the odds of restoring and strengthening your romantic relationship.
Where Do You Find Couples Therapy That Works?
If you’re looking for the best couples therapy out there, Well Marriage Center has you covered. Our licensed therapists specialize in couples therapy and relationship wellness. Not only do they stay up-to-date with the latest techniques to bolster relationships, but they have also worked with over 15,000 couples, giving them the experience to create a plan that works best for you and your significant other. If you’re ready to reignite that passion and intimacy between you and your partner, reach out to our intake coordinator, Melinda.
