Category: <span>Couples Therapy</span>

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Couples Therapy By riverview 0 Comments

How Does Marriage Counseling Work?

If you are considering counseling as a way to improve your marriage, then you are probably also wondering exactly how marriage counseling works. Marriage counseling is an excellent option for anyone seeking to improve their relationship. There are several reasons that a couple might pursue marriage counseling, including having frequent disagreements, depression, lack of intimacy, change in economic status, and more. Marriage counseling is a great tool, but knowing how to utilize it and get the most out of it is key to making sure that your counseling is successful.

What Is Marriage Counseling?

Marriage counseling, which can also be referred to as couples therapy, is a type of psychotherapy that deals with helping married couples through various issues in their relationship. This type of counseling can arise from various circumstances and situations and is often the result of couples hoping to reconcile their relationship and become stronger instead of making the decision to divorce or separate. Marriage counseling can also occur without any “problems” but instead just coming from a couple who wants to become stronger in their relationship.

How Can Marriage Counseling Help?

Counseling can help in several capacities, whether you have experienced a specific issue in your relationship such as an affair, job loss, loss of a child, etc., or simply if you feel that you and your spouse could benefit from counseling to strengthen your relationship in general. Marriage counseling, unfortunately, has a negative connotation related to it as couples are worried about sharing that their marriage might need work for fear of being judged or shamed at not being able to maintain a successful marriage on their own. If your marriage or relationship needs help, do not be afraid to ask for it. It can be extremely difficult to maintain a healthy relationship with another person, but especially when you share your life with that person as well. The daily hardships that couples endure while trying to manage finances together, parent-children together, manage their other relationships outside the marriage, and more. Talking with an experienced professional about these issues can significantly change your life for the better.

How To Find A Marriage Counselor

Finding a marriage counselor doesn’t need to be a difficult process, but it should also be something that you take seriously as you want to find the right person for your relationship. Decide with your partner the specific traits you each want from your counselor, such as their gender, their process, the financial cost, etc. Use resources such as friends, family, internet reviews, and more to help find the right person for you. We recommend even interviewing a few different marriage counselors to be able to compare and decide who you like best. We wish you the best in your situation and we urge anyone reading this who feels like their relationship could use marriage counseling to seek professional help.

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Couples Therapy Individual Treatment Self-improvement By riverview 0 Comments

Mental Illness and Relationships

Many people across the United States and beyond have healthy, strong, supportive
relationships, even despite mental illness in one or both partners. While this can sound
somewhat hard to believe, it really comes down to both people being open and honest with the
other about their strengths, weaknesses, and struggles within their relationship. This way people can lean on each other.

The most important thing to know when it comes to mental health and
relationships is taking the steps to learn how to manage mental illness and promote sustainable habits.

Do I Need To Tell Others About My Mental Illness?

It is understandable to see why many people would be hesitant to share with their friends and/
or their significant other that they suffer from any sort of mental illness or disability.

As many probably already know, beginning any relationship or friendship while hiding a piece of
your identity can only lead to an unhealthy relationship and undoubtedly increased secrecy and
poor trust.

This isn’t to say that you have to share any health information on your first date or
upon meeting a new friend, but moreover that when both of you feel the relationship is
progressing into a more of long-term relationship it becomes more important to share this
information.

Close friends and partners will want to support you with your illness, but also
need to be aware should any sort of episode or situation arise.

Mental Illness

How Will My Condition Affect My Relationships?

Mental health and relationships very much go hand in hand as they can have a drastic affect on
each other.

An unhealthy or abusive relationship with a significant other can lead to poor
mental health and even depression, suicide or PTSD. On the other hand, entering into a
healthy, loving relationship when you are already struggling with any sort of mental illness can
turn the relationship sour very quickly. So, how do we strive for both good mental health and
good relationships?

  • Exercise – Maintaining physical health directly relates to your mental health. Exercising
    regularly has shown to improve stress levels, overall mood, as well as anxiety and
    even PTSD.
  • Talk to a Doctor – If you’ve never actually been diagnosed with a mental illness, but you can feel
    yourself changing or acting in a way that feels unusual to you, it can’t hurt to talk to
    a doctor. There are several therapies, medications, and strategies to help you cope
    rather than doing it alone.
  • Counseling or Therapy – Whether or not you have or haven’t been diagnosed with a mental illness, counseling or therapy can always be helpful for both mental and overall emotional
    wellbeing.
  • Nutrition – Several studies have shown the importance of a well-balanced diet and the major
    effects it can have on your overall health, including mental health. Talking to a
    nutritionist about your specific struggles can really help to maximize your overall
    health.

Overall taking care of your mental health is crucial to maintaining successful relationships and
friendships throughout your life.