During couples counseling in San Antonio, therapists can usually tell where the relationship is headed based on certain behaviors demonstrated by both parties. Randi Gunther, an experienced clinical psychologist and counselor, observes, in his article for The Huffington Post, the telltale signs that a relationship can survive and what is to be expected from the partners to make it happen.
They’ve run into a wall that is either caused by an accumulation of sorrows or a significant crisis, or a combination of the two … Often bruised and defeated, they are coming into counseling with a desperate plea for direction. Their eyes beg the questions: Should they try to re-create a better relationship, take some time away from each other to reformulate, or give up?
Attentiveness
The fact that both parties don’t talk over or interrupt each other is a good sign that they are concerned about each other’s grievances. You can tell when one is merely waiting for the other to finish speaking that there’s little or no love left in the relationship.
Concern
Just because partners haven’t shown each other concern over a long period doesn’t mean they aren’t capable. When one expresses grief or heartbreak, and the other responds with kind gestures and soothing words, this is a clear indication that compassion prevails on any argument.
Self-accountability
The blame game ends where self-accountability begins. No more name-calling or finger-pointing. Everyone is taking responsibility for their actions and being supportive of the other. It is no longer a matter of fighting with each other – they’re now trying to work together.
Energy
Some experienced therapists prefer angry, boisterous couples over quiet and subdued ones who act like they’d rather be somewhere else. Where there’s energy, there is passion, and where there is passion, there is emotion. Sometimes, for couples undergoing marriage counseling in San Antonio, TX, emotion holds the key to a resolution. For an energetic and loving couple to be reduced to cold, lifeless shells is a tragedy because it is difficult, if not impossible, to revive lifelessness.
It doesn’t take a counselor to point out these signs of life in your relationship. Whether within the sessions at Sherwood Couples Counseling or outside of them, these “signs of life” will manifest themselves if you are both willing to go beyond yourselves to make the relationship right again.
(Source: “Is Your Relationship Really Broken? 8 Rays of Hope”, 08 October 2014, Huffington Post)