Couples Counseling in California
Almost all couples experience conflict occasionally. However, when conflict occurs often and responses become unhealthy, conflict within a relationship can negatively affect your mental health and jeopardize a once-happy relationship.
Once tension has found its way into your relationship, you may find it difficult to regain a sense of stability and happiness on your own. You may also find you and your partner returning to the same issues and conflicts over and over. In these cases, couples counseling offers an effective path forward for both parties.
At Advanced Psychiatry Associates, you will have the opportunity to work with mental health professionals who specialize in marriage and family therapy. Together, you can gain insight into patterns of behavior, mend emotional bonds, resolve conflict and learn to manage mental health disorders within your relationship.
When to Consider Marriage Counseling
Like all relationships, marriages have their fair share of conflict and challenges. If your conflicts don’t cease and you notice your marriage is struggling, it may be time to find marriage therapy near you to help you work through differences with your partner.
Marriage counseling can be helpful as a preventive measure or a method to improve communication and intimacy. This service can also resolve present issues. Some signs you and your partner may need marriage counseling include:
- Frequently walking on eggshells around each other.
- Constantly criticizing each other or fighting.
- Becoming indifferent to each other.
- Lying or keeping secrets.
- Viewing each other as the antagonist.
- Being caught or discovering cheating.
The earlier you recognize the signs and address the issues, the better your chance of rekindling the spark in your marriage. Marriage counseling with a professional couples therapist can help you and your partner learn better communication methods while challenging you to rethink your assumptions.
Relationship Counseling for Couples in California
Many people believe couples therapy is only for people whose relationships are in crisis. In reality, couples counseling can benefit anyone involved in a romantic relationship, regardless of age, sexual orientation or background. At Advanced Psychiatry Associates, we offer counseling services for dating, engaged and married couples in California, as well as couples with children.
Couples counseling shares similarities with individual psychotherapy and counseling. However, instead of working one-on-one with a therapist, you and your partner will attend counseling sessions together. Depending on your needs, couples therapy may focus on a specific issue within the relationship or help uncover the root of general difficulties. Counseling typically consists of discussions with a relationship therapist near you and active practice during and between sessions.
Some common concerns couples come to therapy to address include:
- Jealousy: Jealousy can make you and your partner see each other differently, and not in a good way.
- Infidelity: Cheating causes devastating consequences and challenges in monogamous relationships.
- Sex: When sexual intimacy lessens or other sexual issues arise, you could experience relationship challenges.
- Money: Financial issues and burdens can cause turmoil between partners.
- Infertility: The struggles of trying to conceive can put pressure and stress on your relationship.
- Parenting differences: Raising kids can get complicated when you and your partner don’t combine or compromise on your parenting styles.
- Emotional distance: You may feel lonely and emotionally disconnected in your relationship.
- Communication: Communicating in an unhealthy way or struggling to communicate feelings and expectations to each other can cause discord in your relationship.
However, some couples come to counseling with no specific issues in mind.
Managing Mental Health Within a Relationship
The team at Advanced Psychiatry Associates is uniquely equipped to help couples whose relationships have been impacted by struggles with mental health. Individuals can learn to manage their mental health within their relationship and receive individual treatment for mental health disorders outside of couples and marriage therapy, if needed.
We know that mental health disorders can cause strain in relationships and disconnection between partners. Common mental health disorders, like depression and anxiety, may cause individuals to struggle with communicating their feelings, articulating themselves or keeping a conversation going, which could lead to mistrust and apathy toward each other.
Addressing underlying mental health concerns can help ease some of the tension and lay the foundation for a stronger relationship over the long term. If you or your partner suffer from mental health challenges or struggles, receiving treatment may be your best option. Professional treatment will help improve your relationship with yourself, your partner and other people in your life.
We have extensive experience treating anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, OCD and other conditions through psychotherapy and medication management. When you come to us for couples therapy in California, you will receive all the services you and your partner need in one location.
Should You Go to Couples Counseling?
Though couples counseling can sound intimidating, and you may feel like there’s no time or need for it, participating in counseling can help you and your partner uncover and resolve issues in your relationship.
Counseling is worthwhile, even if you think you must solve problems alone or don’t think this service is worth the investment. Additionally, don’t let others’ experiences with counseling deter you and your partner from trying. It could serve your needs better.
Consider the following questions to help you decide if attending couples therapy near you is the next step for your relationship:
- Do you constantly argue with no solution in sight?
- Are you overwhelmed or unsatisfied with each other?
- Are you worried about infidelity or a lack of sexual intimacy?
- Do you notice conflict over how you and your partner parent your children?
Invest in Your Relationship With Couples Counseling at Advanced Psychiatry Associates
Your relationship is important to you, so you want to choose a reliable care provider capable of getting you back on track. Advanced Psychiatry Associates has been providing couples counseling and other mental health services in California for over 15 years. We accept all major insurance providers and keep a staff of outstanding therapists, psychiatrists and nurse practitioners to ensure you receive the comprehensive support you need.
Schedule an appointment by calling one of our relaxed treatment centers or contact us today for more information on couples counseling in Northern and Southern California.