If you are having difficulties in a relationship (whether romantic or otherwise) or are seeking a way to make your bond stronger than ever before then you might find that relationship counselling is very helpful for you. Read on for more information.
What is Relationship Counselling?
In basic terms, relationship counselling is the counselling given to two people within a relationship. The counselling aims to recognise issues or difficulties within the relationship and to find ways to heal or reconcile the issues. Relationship counselling can be carried out on relationships such as romantic relationships, family, employees or employers, or between a professional and a client.
What Relationship Counsellors Do
The relationship counsellor has specific roles to perform. These include providing a confidential dialogue, to allow each person to make their thoughts and feeling known to each other and themselves, to identify the difficulties within the particular relationship and show how the relationship may change for the better, to empower the relationship so that the parties within the relationship are able to make important decisions, and to deliver relevant and appropriate information to the parties being counselled. Relationship counsellors also identify negative patterns and identify the emotions that cause the patterns, help the parties in the relationship find a new and more appropriate way of interacting, to create new and positive events in the relationship, and to improve the feeling of attachment between the parties in the relationship.
Relationship counsellors can help with the following:
- Trust issues
- Anger issues
- Grief and loss
- Self-confidence and/or self-esteem issues
- Depression
- Sexual or intimacy issues
- Compatibility issues (so that both of you in the relationship are satisfied and happy)
- Issues with blended families
- Parenting
- Workplace issues
- Family issues
- Same sex relationship issues
- Counselling for separating or divorcing couples
Who Can Benefit From Relationship Counselling?
Relationship counselling can be beneficial to anyone that is currently in a relationship, whether it is in a romantic or platonic sense. It is especially good for repairing damaged relationships but it can also be of great benefit in helping already good relationships even stronger and better.
Choosing a Counsellor
Because you may be dealing with sensitive and/or private information during your relationship counselling, it is important that you find a counsellor that all parties in the relationship feel comfortable with and trust. Relationship counselling will not be effective if one member feels uncomfortable in any way. Ensure that the counsellor you choose is fully qualified, specialises in relationship counselling, and is a member of a professional organisation. Relationship counselling can be carried out in person or over the phone – which you choose will depend on what you are most comfortable with.
Originally published on Jun 16, 2009
