How to make couples therapy work
Couples therapy is a transformative journey that can lead to profound growth and healing within relationships.
However, it's not uncommon for resistance to surface along the way.
🛑 Avoidance of Difficult Topics:
Partners may deflect or change the subject when faced with discussions about past conflicts, emotional wounds, or relationship challenges. Avoidance can serve as a protective mechanism to avoid discomfort or vulnerability, but it can also prevent meaningful exploration.
🛑 Defensiveness and Blame Shifting:
Partners may become defensive and resort to blaming each other rather than taking responsibility for their own contributions to the relationship dynamic. This defensive posture can create a barrier to effective communication and problem-solving, perpetuating cycles of conflict and misunderstanding.
Common signals - avoidance of eye contact, tight body language, shortness of breath and short minimalistic replies.
🛑 Stonewalling and Withdrawal:
One partner may shut down or disengage from conversations as a means of self-protection or to avoid escalating conflict. While stonewalling may provide temporary relief from discomfort, it ultimately erodes trust and intimacy within the relationship, impeding progress in therapy.
🛑 Minimal Engagement in Therapy:
One or both partners may exhibit apathy, skepticism, or reluctance to participate fully in sessions or complete assigned homework. This lack of engagement can hinder the effectiveness of therapy and prevent couples from realizing the full potential of the therapeutic journey.
🌈 Here are some ways couples therapists recognise and address resistance:
🔗 create a safe space for partners to explore their underlying fears, needs, and concerns.
🔗 gently uncover the root causes of resistance and collaboratively work towards resolution.
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