You’re starting to question if couples therapy even works. After all, you noticed your relationship was not going in the direction you had hoped. There is a disconnect, or maybe trust was broken. You decided to seek couples counseling in Atlanta because you were not ready to give up on your marriage, and you even convinced your partner to get on board.
But you’ve been going to couples therapy for a few months now, and it’s just not making your marriage any better. You wonder, “does couples therapy even work?”. Before throwing in the towel, see if these scenarios could be the culprit.
As an experienced Couples Therapist in Atlanta, here are some reasons why Couples Counseling may not be working for you.
“Work” is only done in session.
The truth is, simply attending couples counseling sessions will not fix your marriage. There is no magic wand that solves all the problems in your relationship by showing up to each session. The work doesn’t start and stop with each session. You and your partner will need to be doing the necessary things outside of each session in order to see the benefits of couples counseling.
You and Your partner have different intentions.
If one partner is committed to doing the necessary work to repair their marriage and the other is already “checked out,” couples counseling will not work. You will need equal commitment and effort to benefit from couples therapy.
You want to change your partner.
If you go into couples counseling with the hope that your Atlanta couples therapist will help you change your partner, you will feel disappointed. At the end of the day, you cannot change or control another person’s behavior. You can only change and control yourself. Couples Counseling gives you the tools to manage expectations, communicate healthy boundaries, and pursue how you want to improve your marriage, but can’t change one partner for the other.
Couples Counseling can be a way to rekindle a marriage and set goals for the future. It works for many couples, who often see significant improvements in their relationships. However, there are cases where couples counseling just may not work. Review some of the discussion points above. If you feel you or your partner may not be seeing improvements in your relationship from couples counseling due to these possible scenarios, bring it up with your Atlanta Couples counselor before calling it quits. It may not be too late to see beneficial outcomes of couples therapy!
