The Best Way Forward: Marriage Counseling in Hong Kong

“All relationships experience turbulence, sometimes we just need help to get over it.” 

Within our fast-paced and high-pressure society, many relationships are constantly stressed, with the need to balance work and social life, time, as well as difficulties that life throw at us. This may cause issues to arise within relationships, but with the help of Marriage Counseling, bonds can be mended and solutions can be found, facilitating better communication and understanding between both parties.

What is Marriage Counseling?

Marriage counseling, also known as couples counseling or couples therapy is a type of psychotherapy which involves a therapist working with couples. During this, it helps two people who are in a romantic relationship be able to further understand their current relationship, resolve any conflicts that may have arisen and learn to understand the other party, as done through therapeutic techniques. Marriage or couple counseling will allow both parties to gain insight into the crux of the issues or conflicts they are facing, as well as the role they play in these interactions. In doing so, this will allow for a deeper understanding and facilitate the changing of behaviors or ways of interacting for the benefit of the relationship.

A specific example of a type of marriage counseling would be Emotion-Focused Therapy, EFT for short, which is a type of therapy designed to address distress within relationships. EFT is based around the theory that people are made healthier emotionally and mentally as a result of emotional contact. However, when partners are unable to meet one another’s emotional needs and create a cycle of negative interactions, this is where EFT comes in. In brief, across the various structured stages of EFT, couples learn to de-escalate, or in other words, reduce the intensity of conflicts by expressing deeper feelings, work together to form new and stronger bonds, as well as make changes in their approaches to interactions as a way to improve their relationship. As an example, couples may start by learning ways to make their common conflicts less intense, such as constant debates on finances. Here, couples will learn to further express their deeply rooted emotions in order to identify the origin of the issue and better communicate with one another. Often, this results in the forming of stronger bonds and by learning ways to change unhealthy behaviors within interactions and putting these strategies into use, this will be able to positively benefit a couple’s relationship.

Why consider couples therapy?

Although taking the leap of faith to try couples therapy is undoubtedly a difficult decision to make, it can also be the best one you’ve made in your life. Couples therapy or marriage counseling allows couples to reconnect emotionally with each other in a positive way, allowing them to learn how to interact and communicate positively with one another once again, while also allowing both parties to have a deeper understanding of their relationship. By learning how to regain trust and how to avoid negative behaviors during interactions, this can solidify your relationship and reduce any stressful arguments or conflicts, ultimately allowing you to improve your relationship with one another.

Who should consider couples therapy?

If you face constant challenges within your relationships such as power struggles, money problems, difficulties in communicating, difficulties with balancing work and life, etc. with these conflicts often resulting in loss of trust of positive communications. If these challenges result in constant conflicts or emotional harm, you may want to consider consulting a therapist for couples therapy.

There are many experience couples counselors within Hong Kong, so do not hesitate to contact them for further information and the best marriage counseling in Hong Kong for you!