Your first marriage counseling session will involve a thorough assessment of your marital history, including when and how you met and when the problems began in your marriage. The first marriage counseling session will also involve obtaining a detailed individual history of each partner and their perception of the problems in the marriage. Goals will be developed to help you achieve greater intimacy and connection through marriage counseling. As time progresses, here are some things you can expect from your marriage counseling experience:
- Marriage counseling can help you understand your partner better.
- Marriage counseling can help you learn to express your needs in a healthy way.
- Marriage counseling can help you learn to communicate more effectively with your partner.
- Marriage counseling can help you identify some of your deep insecurities and how they get triggered in the relationship.
- Marriage counseling can help you understand how your previous experiences (your relationship with your parents, previous romantic relationships, and turning point moments in this relationship) are affecting your present day interactions.
- Marriage counseling can help you break destructive patterns, let go of distancing defense mechanisms, and achieve closeness and vulnerability in your relationship.