Initial Questions to Ask Your Couples Therapist to See if Couples Therapy May Be Right for You and Your Partner:
If you have never been to therapy before, you may not know how to know if couples therapy is a good fit for your circumstances. Coming into session you may not know what questions to ask and what to expect. This article will go over how you can diffuse some of the anxieties that you have associated with starting therapy and important questions to ask to see if you are ready for therapy.
1. Does my couple’s therapist have knowledge and experience working with what I want to work on in my relationship?
When starting therapy, it would be good to know if your therapist has previous experience working with couples and if so, for what issues. Therapists would be happy to answer this question for you. Therapists understand the importance of knowing if they are a good fit for you to help work on presenting problems that are coming up in your relationship. Don’t be afraid to ask them additional questions about their experience and how they have been able to help others with the same issues. Therapists can answer this question by explaining the different modalities that they use to evoke change in therapy.
2. How long will we be in couples therapy once we start?
The question of how long might be on your mind and on your partner’s mind when thinking about embarking on starting therapy. The truth to this question isn’t as direct as you may like. The length of couple’s therapy depends on engagement and consistency for both partners in the relationship. Some couples might feel good with one another after 5 sessions, and some more. Posing this question would get your therapist to consider goals that you would like to work on and depending on those goals the length of time will vary. Instead of focusing on how long it might take, it may be best to consider what would happen if we don’t start therapy soon.
3. There is something that my partner doesn’t know about and I don’t know how to bring it up. Can my couple’s therapist help with that?
Maybe you are wanting to start couples therapy because you would like a third party to mediate how to bring up a secret that you have been keeping from your partner. Therapists normally have a no-secret policy when working with couples. What this means is that your therapist will not help keep secrets from your partner but instead help guide you in bringing that information into the room in a safe space. It can be hard to admit to something when you don’t know an effective way to communicate it. Your couple’s therapist can help you to feel more comfortable while discussing whatever it is you are struggling with.
4. How do I know if couples therapy is going to be productive for me and my partner?
There are many factors that go into whether or not couples therapy would be productive for both you and your partner. But most importantly do you feel like your therapist is able to see both sides to your stories? Do you feel like they are able to listen to both of your concerns and help you both come up with solutions? If you feel like your therapist is one-sided to the issues you are handling as a couple, that couple may not be a great fit for what you need from therapy. Productivity is also going to depend on how willing both partners are to make changes in the relationship.
Begin Couples Therapy in Charlotte, NC
Your relationship deserves support in navigating the concerns that partners experience. Our team of caring therapists would be happy to offer support from our Charlotte, NC-based practice. We would be happy to answer any questions you may have about couples therapy and what to expect. You can start your therapy journey by following these simple steps:
Fill out our contact form
Meet with a caring therapist
Start giving your relationship the support it deserves!
Other Services Offered With Inward Counseling
Couples therapy isn’t the only service our team offers. We know that you may experience more than one mental health concern at a time. This is why we are happy to also offer therapy for anxiety, family, depression, and EMDR. We also offer trauma therapy and Christian counseling. Visit our blog or about page to learn more today.