Couple therapy is for any couple experiencing difficulty in their relationship whether they are married, living together or apart. It can help with problems that threaten the relationship, or difficulties which affect the quality of it.
You don’t have to be at crisis point; you may just want things to be better between you.
If your relationship is in difficulties, it will be in the context of your own unique set of circumstances. Relationships change all the time as partners change and develop; they are also affected by external factors and different stages of life. Often these changes can be accommodated and the relationship evolves but they can sometimes present too great a challenge for the couple to manage on their own.
Reasons why couples might seek help are when:
- there has been an affair or betrayal
- there are problems with intimacy and feeling close
- they are arguing a lot
- they are unhappy in their sexual relationship
- they are struggling to establish a second marriage or be a step family
- they have stopped communicating with each other
- one partner has changed and developed in new ways
- the arrival of children has made them lose sight of themselves as a couple
- they are thinking about separation or divorce
- they seem to have nothing left between them when the children leave home
- the mental or physical illness of one partner is affecting the relationship
- they are unhappy about any aspect of their relationship
How does it work?
Couple therapy works by providing a safe and confidential setting where you can talk openly about painful and upsetting aspects of your relationship with someone who can help you to understand them. It will be helpful to talk about how you have arrived at this point and what lies behind your difficulties. This will include thinking about what you have each brought to the relationship from the past and how this affects things now.
When you have a better understanding of what is going on between you, you can begin to recognise patterns you were not aware of. This will help you to consider how things could be different between you and think about the best possible outcome for your relationship.
In late 2012, Hannan Düzen emigrated to Turkey and settled in the city of Bursa. Further to her BACP accredited membership, she joined the Turkish Psychologists Institute and was elected as a reserve member of the Management Board of the Bursa branch. Hannan Düzen provides psychotherapy services in either Turkish or English.
