Marriage Counselling

Have things changed over time with you and your spouse? Are you struggling to communicate? Has the intimacy disappeared? You are not alone. A marriage is an investment. It requires time and effort, and the more you put in, the more you will get back. Whether you’re a newlywed, or feel as though you’ve been married a lifetime, counselling can help you build back up the skills and communication needed for a healthy, satisfying, long-lasting connection.

Marriage counselling is the process of working together to try and understand and manage differences and repeating patterns of discontentment. Some of the common reasons married couples engage in counselling include:

  • A break down in communication
  • Money pressures
  • Sexual difficulties or sexual incompatibility
  • Infidelity
  • Imbalances in power
  • Difficulties maintaining trust
  • Living separate lives
  • Problems with extended family
  • Adjusting to parenthood
  • Conflicting ideas on child rearing, lifestyle, friends or finances

Often problems occur as the result of a gradual break down in communication or after an event (such as an affair, the birth of a child, or when children leave home) has occurred which throws the relationship out of balance.

Sometimes it can be difficult to tackle your issues alone, because trying to discuss things simply leads to an argument which you and your partner would rather avoid.

Marriage counselling can help individuals to:

  • Understand the relationship they currently share
  • Rediscover why they were attracted in the first place
  • Find out what they now want from their relationship and from each other
  • Understand how they contributed to whatever their marriage has become
  • Discuss how they feel about each other now
  • Discuss what they are prepared to do to make this relationship work

A marriage counsellor can help to uncover underlying problems faced by each individual, which are contributing to difficulties within the marriage. Therapy allows each person to express their views in a supported environment in order to work towards a solution. The psychologist’s role is not to make judgements or decisions for their clients; they are there to provide support to both individuals and help each individual support the other.

The practitioners at VCPS can provide assistance by:

  • Teaching effective communication strategies
  • Helping each person understand the other’s needs
  • Teaching effective coping strategies
  • Practising conflict resolution and anger management strategies
  • Building back up intimacy and connection within your relationship