What does couples counseling do?
I see many couples in my practice and this is a question I get often. So I think it is good to clarify it to myself and clients. My approach to couples counseling is that the relationship is my client, not the individuals. How this works is that I am looking for things to strengthen the relationship and I care what each individual says/feels, but I relate that information back to the relationship and how it impacts the love between the two. My job is to make the relationship better, and sometimes that means helping each individual feel better (particularly if they have depression or anxiety), but almost always, by helping the relationship get stronger, both individuals naturally feel better. Sometimes people come to me who are not ready for couples counseling, and that is OK. Maybe they have some doubts about being in the relationship that they need to work through, or they have significant personal issues they need to address first. When...