Marriage can be wonderful and complicated; happy and sad; exciting and mundane. Rarely is it “smooth sailing” throughout its course, which is why many couples seek out marriage counseling. Therapy can be very beneficial if your marriage is hitting some rough seas. With a qualified therapist you and your spouse can find new ways to navigate the course of your marriage more effectively. Conflict will never disappear altogether, as you are both human. But it can be minimized at least to some degree so your marriage stays intact.
There are many different issues which may come to the surface if you and your spouse decide to go to marriage counseling. Therapy for couples will help you look at things in a new light, consider unhealthy patterns, and find ways to communicate better. Sometimes things may get worse before they get better as you face tough issues and open up wounds which have never really healed. But these wounds must be opened and dealt with if things are to get better in your marriage.
In marriage counseling, therapy is like cleaning out the infected wound so it can finally heal once and for all. It will hurt at first, but it is well worth it in the long run. A skillful therapist will work with you to find the best ways to manage the pain as you go through the process.
One of the key issues that often comes up is difficulty letting go of the past. Hanging on to old hurts, harboring resentment, and refusing to forgive will keep you stuck. Letting go of the past is difficult for a lot of people, but it is essential for the sake of your marriage and for you to make progress in the course of your marriage counseling. Therapy won’t fix you, but it can help you to get “unstuck” and find a way to let go.
Holding on to the past is destructive to a relationship. If either you or your spouse are doing this then it is going to show up in various ways in your relationship. What often happens is that whenever there is a conflict, one of you brings up the past and uses it as ammunition against the other. While it may give you a sense of leverage or power in the moment, it keeps you both stuck.
Dredging up past wrongs is like pulling a scab off a sore and letting it bleed all over again. Needless to say, it is a destructive behavior which must be addressed in your marriage counseling. Therapy can be the safe place to address this once and for all, and to start working towards letting it go.
If you are the spouse whose past offense is frequently thrown back in your face, you no doubt know the sting and guilt that accompany such painful reminders. We all make mistakes. And we all desire forgiveness. It is difficult to be in a relationship with someone who just can’t let something go.
Sometimes it’s easier to forgive others and let go when we have experienced real forgiveness ourselves. But when you haven’t, and it is hurting your marriage, then you may really benefit from marriage counseling. Therapy is much less costly than a divorce. And if you give it a chance, you may find that you and your spouse can finally heal the wounds and have a stronger marriage than ever!
source
Posts
