At best, relationships are difficult. The demands of modern life,
work, finances, children, taking care of the home all add up and
create enormous stresses on a relationship. Communication is one
of the first things that suffers in a relationship. The closeness
felt by the partners to the relationship begins to change, and
soon husband and wife are more like roommates than spouses. The
marriage loses it’s “spark” and becomes unhappy. Conflict
increases, while the ability to deal with conflict decreases.
Intimacy suffers. Sometimes infidelity occurs.
There are many other ways that marital
dysfunction affects the family. Many issues
affect children of the marriage. Oftentimes,
even in marriages that are cordial, but
dysfunctional, the children are able to read the
distance between their parents and react to
that distance. Divorce, remarriage, and adult
children returning to the home are all
potential significant stressors in the marriage.
Even happy circumstances such as a marriage, the
purchase of a home, birth of a child, or
retirement are stimuli that bring out marital
difficulties.
Many relationship problems are fixable. It requires partners who
want to repair the damaged parts of their relationship and have
the same or similar goals. Marital therapy begins with individual
therapy of the partners. Exploring one’s own issues is the key to
repairing the problems in the marriage. Couples therapy with both
spouses being treated at the same session together can also be
helpful in the marriage’s repair.
Marriage Counseling
Helping People Achieve Happy and Healthy Relationships