When you have never taken part in therapy before, even more so as a couple, you may not know what to expect, except from drama on television. It is a good idea to ask your partner what they expect from new couple’s therapy so that both of you can help your relationship grow over the next few months and years.
What Your Expectations Might Be
As two individuals move into new couple’s therapy, they may believe that they are going to hear about several problems that their therapist will solve, making their lives better and more rewarding. They will almost certainly expect their partner to be the brunt of most of the problems.
They may also expect the therapist to be completely neutral with their views, but in reality, it is expected that they will have achieved years of experience, seen many situations and dilemmas and hold their own core principles. Nevertheless, the role of new couple’s therapy is to help the relatively new partners find common goals and objectives which may involve compromise and difficult decisions. It is not the role of the therapist to solve any difficulties and to make decisions.
Preplanning
Going to therapy as a couple will be improved when you have taken time to reflect about how you see yourself as a couple presently, where you would like to move to in the future and contemplate any difficulties in reaching mutual decisions.
You will also be helped when you consider all the positive aspects that have brought you together as a couple and why you both believe it is important to undertake a course of therapy.
Difficulties may arise when either of both partners have completely different expectations about the purposes and reasons for undergoing any therapy sessions.
You have choices in life which involve making changes in your relationship or changing the relationship. The therapy will hopefully show you where compromise can be reached between these two extremes and show you skills that you can learn for the future.
