You hear the story time and time again… two people meet, fall in love and get married. At first it feels like a dream. But what happens when the fairy tale ends? Real life has a funny habit of getting in the way of even the most unbelievable love stories.

Laughter can turn to tears. Kisses, to snide comments. That feeling of closeness seems to crumble away with time. If this is resonating with you, you are not alone.
Just because you feel like your marriage is a standstill, does not mean it needs to stay that way. Don’t turn a blind eye to the signs your marriage isn’t what you thought it would be.

By attending a couples therapy retreat, Licensed Marriage Therapist there can offer you an unbiased perspective, you could turn your relationship around and regain that fairy tale feeling! So, what could you get out of counseling sessions with your other half? The answer is simply this… that you could get the marriage you’ve always wanted.

Perspective

This is often considered to be the most valuable part of couples counselling. Often, because yourself and your partner are so invested in the issues affecting your relationship, you are not able to see the situation in an objective manner. A counselor at a marriage retreat will be able to see your disagreements with a completely fresh pair of eyes, therefore helping you to gain perspective and resolve the problem.

A counselor’s experience of seeing other couples in a similar situation to yourselves will allow them to bring an entirely new perspective to your relationship. You can rest assured that if you use a knowledgeable marriage therapist they will have seen many couples with struggles similar to your own. Obviously, every relationship is different, I am not suggesting otherwise, but a well-practiced counselor will be able to use their experiences to support you.

Objectivity

It is completely normal that when you’re having issues in your relationship, you will talk to those around you about your situation. Whilst your loved ones often have the best intentions, they are unable to be objective.

Due to the fact that a Marriage Therapist at couples marriage retreat has no prior knowledge or prejudice about your relationship, they are the perfect person to go to for guidance. Their distance from the situation will enable them to support you as a couple, without ‘picking sides’.

Tools

Effort that is put forth into your marriage shouldn’t end at the retreat. You will be given tools to take home with you that if utilized will continue to help your relationship grow.  While at your intensive, oftentimes you and your partner will have ‘homework’. Those that commit to the tasks the counselor asks you to do in your own time are much more likely to have a positive outcome.

Often the tips and tools that they provide you with will enable you and your partner to have helpful conversations without the counselor being there to moderate. These tips may include things such as taking time to do something together, helpful hints on how to phrase your questions in conversation, extending the intimacy and uninterrupted listening. Your counselor will have many other techniques that they have tried and tested too! Hopefully, many of the techniques that you’ll learn at the retreat will become part of your daily habits.

Safe Space

The first rule of marriage therapy, or couples counseling, is that anything said to your therapist at any couples counseling retreat will stay there. It is almost like a sacred thing, what happens at the retreat needs to be treated with dignity and respect. It is often a good place to talk freely and without judgement. The most effective counselors will show no signs of judgement towards you and your partner. They should also facilitate for the two of you to respect and listen to what the other is saying, without fear of judgement.

Quite often, healthy conversation is the vehicle which will allow change to take place in your relationship. To be able to speak openly and without judgement about your feelings and experiences will enable you and your partner to feel empowered and valuable. Counselors will usually have some ground rules that you will need to abide by in order to make the counseling a positive experience and express your feelings in a productive way.

Think about the vows you made to your partner when you first became married. Marriage promises, more often than not, involve a promise to stick together until the very end, in spite of hardships and struggles. If you’re reading this, you have taken the first positive step towards saving your marriage.

The fact that you are here means you are committed to change. You want to save your ‘happily ever after’! There is no shame to be held in admitting that you need some professional advice to help you. Marriage counselors, like all other types of therapists, are able to give you the tools and skills to foster that positive change. So, what are you waiting for? If your marriage is worth fighting for, find yourself a marriage counseling retreat.