One of the reasons that individuals don’t seek out marriage counseling is because they don’t know what happens in counseling sessions. Do you lie on that couch and simply talk about all of the bad things that have happened in your life? Do you have a therapist, sitting with a small clock next to her, taking notes and saying, “I see?” In a television show, that is just what marriage counseling is like. In real life, you both meet with a therapist and work on your problems through open and frank conversations. It’s much easier, much more comfortable and even more enjoyable than you think that it is.
The Session
A marriage counseling session generally is a meeting that brings the two individuals together for a joint therapy session. The therapist generally asks questions that are geared at understanding the problem as well as helping you to find your own answers to the problem. For example, he or she may ask you questions about what is causing the problems between you both, and then ask your partner for their side of the story. While the counselor’s job is not necessarily to tell people that one is right and the other is wrong, his job is to show you both that both of your feelings are justified, which means that the solution needs to come from both of you and be a compromise.
In addition to helping to resolve the problem, the marriage therapist also has the job of understanding what is really behind the way that you feel or the way that you act. By determining what is really there, you can find yourself understanding in a better way the way that your partner feels, even though you believe that right now they are completely wrong. During a therapy session, the therapist will help to uncover these things so that you both can see what’s really under the surface of your marriage, your tensions as well as your successes.
Taking a good look at the good and the bad in a relationship is important, so both sides need to be told. The counselor also needs to take into consideration the needs that each of you have and help to get those needs met. While it may seem intimidating on television, a marriage counseling session is about exploring your relationship and uncovering the truth behind it.