Ideally, your relationship with your partner should be stable, reliable and mutually beneficial. Still, you may have conflicts or disagreements that change your dynamic over time. If both partners are willing to be honest and put in the work, couples therapy can be valuable in building a partnership based on mutual respect, trust and communication. Emotionally focused therapy has proven to have the highest success rate of any couples counseling method.
How Does EFT Work?
EFT helps people understand their emotions and learn to be more empathetic toward others. This approach grew out of attachment theory, which states that people need to feel secure in their relationships and that fears of abandonment can be profoundly distressing. In relation to EFT, attachment theory states that insecurity is an underlying principle behind the conflicts many couples have. A therapist who specializes in EFT can help you learn to interact with your partner in more loving, responsive and emotionally healthy ways.
EFT for couples involves nine treatment steps. In the first four steps, the therapist will assess how you interact with your partner and help deescalate conflict. In steps five, six and seven, you and your partner will work with your therapist to strengthen your bonds. Treatment concludes in steps seven through nine, which reinforce the lessons learned in all the previous stages.
For example, you might begin therapy by learning how to resolve a common point of contention, such as a dispute about how to manage the household budget. Then, you can start learning how to express underlying feelings that may contribute to frequent friction. The final stages of therapy help couples identify the attachment issues that cause tension and negativity. EFT concludes when couples can effectively, respectfully communicate and resolve arguments outside the therapeutic environment.
Do You Need Couples Counseling?
When intimate partners can’t fulfill each other’s emotional needs, they may become stuck in a pattern of negativity. Ultimately, it’s impossible to change your behavior without addressing the unspoken issues that underlie your responses. In couples counseling, you can learn to navigate relationship problems for a healthier dynamic.
After listening to you and your partner and understanding your goals for therapy, a counselor can give you honest, impartial and non-judgmental feedback. As a neutral third party, a couples counselor can listen to what you both have to say and help you view your relationship through a new lens.
Even the strongest relationships can end up in choppy waters. Whether you and your partner frequently argue about whose turn it is to make dinner or are contemplating a major life decision such as buying a new house, small and large differences of opinion can be stressful and lead to a potentially insurmountable impasse. Couples counseling can help you uncover the root of these problems and give you constructive solutions.
How to Heal Your Relationship
Addiction is a frequent source of conflict among couples. If alcohol and drug use has driven a wedge between you and your partner, you could be at risk of losing a valuable source of love, stability and companionship. At Cumberland Heights, we offer family services for loved ones impacted by active addiction. To learn more about our Tennessee drug and alcohol rehab and the lifesaving treatment approaches we use, contact us today.
