3 Things to Consider Before Choosing a Marriage Counselor
Marriage counseling can benefit every couple, especially partners who have trouble with communication and intimacy. Couple’s counseling is a journey that must be taken together. However, it has the potential to transform your marriage through improved communication, increased intimacy, and a deeper understanding of yourself and your partner.
To reap the best possible rewards from seeing a counseling professional, there are essential things to consider. Counselors in Richmond, VA, offer these things to think about before choosing a counseling professional:
Choose evidence-based counseling
Every counselor has a different outlook on what may be causing marital problems. They can use their own thoughts and opinions to decide what treatment will be best for a couple. Finding a therapist or counselor who uses therapies proven effective through evidence is crucial. The most effective types of marriage counseling treatments are tested in science, replicated, written about, and retested until long-term outcomes show their success. Comparing specific therapies to other approaches by using large numbers of people can prove whether a treatment will stand the test of time.
Make a connection
The most important part of marriage counseling is finding a therapist with whom you feel comfortable and can connect easily. Even the most innovative therapist trained in all of the best therapies and available research may not do well with couples because they just don't have a connection. For marriage counseling to be successful, it is essential to feel like your counselor supports you, understands you, and can help you achieve your goals as a couple.
Trusting them and feeling good about them is essential for you to be able to open up to them about your problems. To get the most out of marriage counseling, both spouses must be able to open up freely to the counselor. This requires digging deep, being genuine, showing authenticity, and talking about things that aren't always comfortable to talk about. Feeling safe with a counselor helps you learn more about yourself and your partner, makes it easy for you to take honest feedback, and allows you to accept the skills and tools that can make your life together different. If you don't feel comfortable with your counselor, it can be challenging to be honest and vulnerable with them and your spouse. If you don't feel emotional safety with them, it isn't easy to take their guidance seriously.
Take your time and shop around.
Having a good relationship with your couple’s counselor is vital. Many counselors in Richmond, VA, offer free consultations that can help you determine whether you're going to connect with the counselor you choose. These consultations allow you to get to know each other better by asking questions and making sure that working together will be a great match. After the consultation, meeting regularly and moving forward together to help achieve your relationship goals will be easy if you find that it's a good fit.