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| When should we seek couples therapy? |
| It is always best to seek couples therapy
whenever you first realize that there is a problem that has been unresolved for too long.
If the problem festers for long, this weakens the relationship and makes treatment more
difficult. |
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| Types of Couples Therapy |
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Marital Therapy |
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Partner counseling for straight or gay couples |
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Premarital counseling |
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| Goal: Enhance and develop positive communication strategies |
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Working as a team: using the input of both partners to solve problems |
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Assertiveness |
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Broaching important issues in a way that gets results |
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Expressing anger in a way that your partner can hear it |
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Learning to communicate vulnerable feelings to your partner |
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Increasing positive interactions |
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Staying emotionally connected day-by-day |
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Learning to calm and soothe your partner and yourself |
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Having your partner become your best friend again |
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| Goal: Eliminate problematic communication styles |
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Criticism and contempt |
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Passivity |
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Aggressiveness |
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One partner nagging, the other being passive-aggressive |
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Defensiveness |
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Emotional withdrawal |
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Overwhelming emotional distress around major issues |
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Repeated arguments with no resolution |
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| Finally, |
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Use improved communication skills to
solve chronic problems regarding children, money, sex and other matters |
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