SO YOU’VE STARTED COUPLE’S THERAPY… NOW WHAT?
Remember Date Night?
Some of the most common issues driving couples to seek couples therapy with us at Sparrow Counseling in Birmingham, AL are problems with communication, trust, intimacy, loss, and life transitions. When relationships experience stressors like these, planning romantic, fun trysts can seem overly complicated and frustratingly fragile, leading to yet another night of sitting side by side, surfing your phones.
Couples I see say they want to have free and open communication with their partners and to feel truly heard. They want to connect with their partner, to feel appreciated, respected, desired, and needed. Couple’s therapy is a great place to learn the tools that will help you to achieve your relationship goals.
5 Tips for Getting the Most Out Of Couples Therapy:
1. Be Honest and Open
Be honest with your partner and yourself. Be open to trying something new and hearing your partners’ feelings and needs. The golden rule applies best in couples’ therapy. When it’s your turn to state a need, mean what you say, but don’t be mean in how you say it. Conversely, when it’s your turn to listen, seek to understand your partner rather than defend yourself.
2. Do Your Homework
It's not enough just to show up, you need to practice what you learn in session, at home. I like to provide my clients with fun, creative and unique activities that keep you busy and foster connection in between sessions. The more you do it, the more you’ll get out of it.
3. Lean In Not Out
Relationships, like couples therapy, require commitment. Give your partner, your relationship, and yourself the respect of commitment. Be vulnerable and hold yourself accountable for your mistakes. When you feel like recoiling or falling back into bad habits, lean toward your partner instead.
4. Cut Each Other (and Yourself) Some Slack
It didn’t take a couple of hours to get to this point, it’s going to take more than a couple of hours to get to your desired outcome. When your partner fails to hold up their end, don’t drop yours. Be patient and avoid comparisons, blame, and harsh critiques.
5. Look for and Celebrate Your Wins
Have you ever been on a diet? Often times it seems that when someone decides to lose weight, they tend to focus on the final goal, rather than small achievements they make along the way.
Couples therapy can have similar pitfalls which is why it’s so important to highlight and celebrate your wins, both big and small. I help couples create goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely (SMART) so they can begin seeing wins right away!
Interested in Talking to a Couples Therapist in Birmingham, AL?
If your relationship is missing connection, communication, trust, or even the desire for a Date Night, there’s no better time than right now to make your move. At Sparrow Counseling in Birmingham, AL we know what it takes to go from a relationship that’s blah, to #relationshipgoals! We want to meet you and help you learn the tools you need to have the relationship you’ve always dreamed of. To get started follow these three simple steps:
Reach out to Sparrow Counseling for a free 15-minute consultation.
Be matched with a caring, experienced couples’ therapist.
Begin your healing journey with support.
Other Services Offered at Sparrow Counseling
At Sparrow Counseling we offer in-person and online therapy in the state of Alabama. In addition to couples counseling, our team specializes in grief, and loss counseling, individual counseling, co-parenting counseling, reunification therapy, blended family counseling, divorce & family mediation, discernment counseling, and more in Birmingham, Alabama. Learn more by checking out our FAQs and Blog!