The Benefit of Outside Support for Your Relationship
Despite problems that bring them to therapy, it’s important to acknowledge that couples do many things together to solve their own problems and are resourceful in their pursuit of happiness together. However, sometimes couples need support from an external source that is not directly related to the relationship.
Couples therapy includes gathering information about the people involved in the relationship with time to explore how each partner has changed throughout the duration of the relationship. This provides an opportunity for partners to explore how they might take responsibility for the relationship.
At Eastside Center for Healing we use more than one therapeutic approach in couples counseling.
Gottman Method Relationship Therapy is a resource we use that revolves around a detailed assessment of the couple’s perspectives about their relationship. Our therapists take time to observe a couple in problem solving conversations or review historical information to learn the ways they discuss and interact with one another around issues.
Systemic family therapy (SFT), is a type of therapy that explores interactional patterns and interventions that have contributed to maintaining problems, not solving them, as well as the impacts from outside influences or people as contributing factors to ongoing conflict.
Ongoing Assessment
Ongoing assessment is essential to help couples identify what contributes to conflict. Individual family-of-origin beliefs, and how those cultural beliefs are impacting the couple, can be invaluable in understanding the reasons for feeling reactive with one another.
In addition, identifying life dreams that contribute to conflict can bring about increased empathy and lead to a desire to help one another achieve those dreams rather than tear a family apart.
Negative and repeating patterns of behavior, unmet needs, useful or destructive styles of communication, attachment styles, emotional themes, and understanding the role of childhood injuries in relationships are all examples of issues couples deal within the life of their relationship.
At Eastside Center for Healing, we encourage curiosity about each other and promote receptivity to new solutions which can bring about effective new interactional patterns for couples now and in the future.