What is couple counselling 

Couple counselling, also known as couple therapy, is a form of counselling focused on improving the romantic relationship between two individuals. 

Who should consider couple counselling 

In general, couple counselling is beneficial to all types of relationships, including: 

• Straight or same-gender relationships 
• Interracial relationships
• Large age gap relationships 
• Relationships that are in the dating, engaged or married stage 

Here are some couple counselling services to consider in Singapore

Benefits of couple counselling 

Couples can benefit from couple counselling in many ways. Often, problems and internal conflicts between couples are caused by a lack of communication or poor communication in general. Studies have shown that communication difficulties are the main reason for the breakdown of many relationships. 

Some of the benefits of couple counselling include: 

• Learning how to communicate better and listen sincerely without constantly ending up in a heated argument 
• Learning how to understand the struggles, fears, and challenges that your partner faces in life 
• Learning how to disagree without hurting each other emotionally and physically 
• Improving intimacy (both sexually and non-sexually)
• Learning how to accept and honour family relationships 
• Learning how to set personal boundaries and stick by them 
• Deciding if the relationship is worth continuing 
• Dealing with commitment issues in the relationship 

What to expect during couple counselling sessions

A counsellor will be assigned to you and your partner to work on your case. The counsellor might start the counselling session by asking you and your partner a few questions: 

• How long have you been together in a relationship?
• What are the issues that you have been experiencing in the relationship?
• Have you been to relationship counselling before? 
• Have you and your partner done anything to try to resolve the problem in the relationship? 
• What do you wish to achieve from the counselling session?

These questions would help the counsellor understand more about the relationship between you and your partner and better help bridge the gap between you two. 

How is a counselling session conducted?

In most cases, both parties in the relationship will be required to attend the counselling session together. However, this arrangement might change after a few sessions where the counsellor would request to see each person individually. 

Counselling is all about developing trust with your counsellor to feel comfortable and safe talking about issues that you might hold close to your heart. Sometimes, it is easier to open up and tell your side of the story when your partner is not present at the counselling session.

Your counsellor might use a combination of several different techniques to help you and your partner more effectively during the counselling process. These include but are not limited to: 

• sharing your feelings openly and honestly 
• role playing 
• pointing out discrepancies in your and your partner’s behaviour 
• discussing difficult topics openly 
• asking you about your family history and childhood 
• teaching you how to improve communication in the relationship

What do I need to do after a counselling session 

For the counselling to be effective, your counsellor might give you specific tasks to do at home, such as communicating with your partner without any argument or recording your feelings or arguments in a notebook and reporting back on the experience during the next counselling session. 

Should I go for couple counselling or breakup immediately 

If your current relationship is shaky due to lack of trust, broken trust or other factors, couple counselling can salvage your relationship and even improve it. Couple counselling can be a meaningful way to reset the relationship’s foundation and work your way away from a breakup or divorce. 

Misconceptions about couple counselling 

Some couples might think that going for couple counselling sessions is an embarrassing thing to do. Others might view it as a finger-pointing platform when things get out of hand in the relationship.

It is neither embarrassing to attend couple counselling sessions nor a finger-pointing platform for the dirty laundry in your relationship. Couple counselling is to bridge the gap between you and your partner and improve your relationship.   

Why do couples breakup after being in a long-term relationship

After all, a long-term relationship’s end goal is never breakup, but always to continue for as long as possible. However, it takes two hands to clap. In a relationship, it takes two people to make things work. 

Lack of effort 

Nobody should ever be taken for granted in a relationship. When one person stops putting effort into the relationship, the ship will sink. In the busy world we live in today, it is easy to forget about our partner and shift our priorities in a relationship. Not taking time out of the busy schedule to spend time with the other party can damage a long-term relationship, especially if you take the other person’s presence for granted. 

Endless arguments 

Whether big or small petty fights, it can be damaging to both parties in a relationship. When arguments are frequently occurring, both parties find it harder to find common ground and keep the connection alive. 

Insecurities

Insecurities, jealousy, and the lack of trust are proven to be fatal for any relationship. When one partner feels unworthy of being loved, the relationship is bound to fail anytime soon. Insecurities can lead to being overly dependent, possessive, and controlling. These are what form toxic relationships that anyone should get out of as quickly as possible. Eventually, the negative feelings will push one or both partners out of the relationship. 

If your relationship is experiencing the above problems, going for couple counselling may save your relationship and even improve it. When the correct techniques are used, couples who are on the verge of breaking up can fix the relationships’ holes and start afresh. 

Conclusion

Couple counselling can be the last resort to save your dying relationship between you and your partner. Couple counselling is not a foolproof method to salvage your relationship because it is still dependent on how the parties react and change after the counselling sessions. However, even if your relationship doesn’t work out in the end, you will still leave the counselling session with valuable skills such as better communication skills, conflict management, managing emotions, better self-control, and handling responsibilities in a relationship. 

Editor’s Note:

While every precaution has been made to ensure the accuracy and fairness of this listing, we acknowledge that they may be inaccuracies. Therefore, we urge you to contact the service provider above for the correct information and/or contact us with the correct information.

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