Family Counseling Therapist Mclean VA
Family counseling is usually recommended for relationships that are going through a rough patch. Family counseling is often subjective. Its effectiveness relies on many different elements, not just the couple’s ability to work through the issues. If you’ve tried working with a Mclean, Virginia family counseling therapist once before and it didn’t work, consider the following.
Did You Really Understand the Problems You Were Facing?
Many couples have problems in their relationships because of their own baggage and issues they bring into the marriage. While they may need couple’s work, each individual may need healing from their own past before they can move forward in the marriage. A Mclean VA family counseling therapist can help for a time, but without dealing with the issues that actually drove you into therapy, it’s just a band-aid.
Were You Both Ready to Deal With the Problems?
Working with a family counseling Mclean VA trusts as a couple can be very difficult. It’s hard to discuss intimate details with a third party in a small room. The surface issues may not be the real issues, either. If you went into counseling without facing the real problems, for whatever reason, it’s obvious that counseling wouldn’t work. Now that you’re more mature, it’s possible that you’re ready.
Did Both Parties Want to Attend?
If one of you didn’t want to attend therapy, then it’s hard to imagine that it would work. If one partner felt as if he or she were being forced, then that person maybe didn’t engage with the counseling. Couples therapy can work, but both parties have to be committed.
Did You Have Clear Goals?
Therapy without goals is simply talking about the marriage. If you’re not sure what you want to get out of therapy, it can be difficult to know if it worked or not. When you attend therapy, it’s important to have an objective. Setting goals at your first appointment can make counseling even more effective.
Did the Family Counseling Therapist Have Enough Experience to Help You?
Marriage therapists want to help couples be better, but their training may not be up to the task. Your therapist may have had good intentions but didn’t realize the scope of your problems. Rather than admitting defeat, the therapist tried to work with what they knew. It’s possible that your therapist just didn’t have the experience to help you with your specific issues. Sometimes, a counselor is a bad match with a couple.
Try Again Before Giving Up
If family counseling didn’t work the first time, take an objective look at why. Try again, this time with a different purpose. Even if you can’t save the relationship, you can learn to communicate better with each other. Contact a family counseling therapist Mclean VA families recommend from Lindsey Hoskins & Associates and find out how we can help.