Is Your Partner Refusing to Go to Couples Counseling?
Tips on How to Encourage a Partner to Attend Couples Counselor Therapy?
It is almost impossible to get an unwilling partner or spouse to attend couples counseling sessions with you unless they have been ordered by the court. When someone is adamant, then you cannot force them to speak to a
. Furthermore, if your partner or spouse agrees to attend but is not willing to change, then counseling sessions will prove to be of little benefit.
In a few cases, however, your partner or spouse may simply feel uncomfortable with talking to a stranger about your shared problems. They could also feel like the counselor and their relative partner or spouse will use this time to gang up on them. With these cases, speaking to your partner or spouse about their reluctance to attend counseling could help to encourage them to at least give it a go.
Another approach which can often work is to ask your partner or spouse to attend counseling sessions to help you more. When they do not feel that counseling is going to end up being confrontational, and can actually benefit you, they may go with the attitude that they are in no way to blame for the problems in the relationship.
Most psychologists feel that when a partner or spouse truly does not wish to attend counseling, then the other person who does want to attend should still go. Individual counseling often helps people to clearly define their own needs and issues. And, should the reluctant partner or spouse start to notice the benefits from counseling, they may be more receptive to it in the future.
A spouse or partner that is concerned about sharing their personal feelings in front of a stranger may be more open to working through a self-help book out, this
,
in turn, could result in a greater interest in counseling in the future, or could even help to address some of the key issues within the relationship.
If you live in or around the Seattle, WA area and are looking for a
couples counselor
, then look no further than Linda L Anderson MS, call us today at (206) 782-7448.