While you can always go for couple counselling, it is better to identify the right time and opportunity. Here are a few signs you must not miss for getting couple counselling.
1. Lack of Communication
It is the most critical sign that your relationship is having problems. Communication between partners is the key to a healthy relationship, even if they fight and argue. Once you stop talking and sharing your thoughts and ideas with each other, you will experience more unresolved fights and distance.
If there is a lack of communication, you will avoid discussing the problems you face in the relationship. It will build up resentment and unspoken issues. Moreover, it will also cause misunderstanding, as your partner might misinterpret the things you say or do and vice versa.
2. Regular Fights and Arguments
As much as communication is essential for a healthy relationship, constant fighting and bickering might also signify that you need relationship counselling. Usually, arguments and fights are common between partners when they are living together. However, the problem becomes visible when they fight for anything and everything in life.
In most cases, therapists find that the couples who come for counselling experience arguments that usually go unresolved. Instead, they deal with pent-up anger and frustration, which they might express in a passive-aggressive manner. If you experience such issues with your partner, it is time to get some counselling.
3. Challenges in Coexistence
When you and your partner are not on the same page about anything, you might find it extremely challenging to coexist with each other. Usually, a couple living together tend to coexist by dining, sleeping, socialising and having fun together. However, if the problems start growing, you might feel like you are living with a roommate, not a partner.
As a result, separate living styles will be inevitable. You will find it dreadful to plan anything with your partner, and vice versa. Moreover, you might feel a subtle pressure and fear of going out with your partner in public, worrying about the possibility of fights. It is a sign that you need to go for counselling.
4. Persistent Issues in Relationship
As you probably know, relationships cannot exist without problems and issues. The ideal way to handle them is through communication, trying to resolve them to benefit both partners. However, if you notice the same problems persisting in your relationship, it means you need counselling.
For instance, you might have a problem with your partner's decision regarding matters involving you. However, you will notice that your partner is not making any amends to help your case. This means that the issue will persist, and you will probably keep fighting about it.
5. Financial Difficulties
If you are undergoing financial challenges with your partner, be careful not to let it hamper your relationship. In many cases, couples fight over their financial status and the disparity between incomes and expenses. As money is an essential requirement for living, hiding your financial condition or being dishonest about it will not help.
Apart from that, you might end up having fights regarding excessive expenses and discussing ways to split the money effectively. Moreover, anxieties about not having a sufficient economy to run a house take a toll on the mental health of partners, causing them to fight and argue about this issue.
6. Different Goals and Expectations
It is essential for partners to be on the same page and have similar goals in a relationship. They are bound to have fights and differences if they have different aspirations and expectations. For instance, if one wishes to focus on the relationship and the other one needs more time to build a career, the relationship might start suffering.
Moreover, it is essential to ensure that both partners want the same things from the relationship. The problem again arises with a lack of clear communication, where partners fail to discuss the expectations they might have from each other. As a result, they will have more fights and fail to maintain a healthy bond.
7. Lack of Intimacy
Sexual and romantic intimacy between the partners is again essential when it comes to maintaining a healthy relationship. While the level of intimacy might change and fluctuate with time, you can clearly identify a lack of interest from both ends regarding sexual intimacy if you face relationship problems.
Intimacy needs usually differ on an individual level. If you are dissatisfied, you can start by discussing the same with your partner. However, if you notice a persistent lack of interest, passion and chemistry, it signifies relationship problems. Instead of getting frustrated over this, consider visiting a couple's counsellor.
8. Possibilities of Infidelity
It is the last stage of relationship problems, where either one or both partners look elsewhere for romantic or intimate development outside the current relationship. It develops from a long-term detachment and lack of intimacy with the current partner. Consider such options if you are unhappy and dissatisfied with your relationship.
It can be challenging to find out about the infidelity choices of a partner if he/she decides to cheat. However, the best option here is to come out clean with your partner and eliminate the shame and guilt. Instead, it would help if you tried to gain his/her support in improving the relationship with the help of a counsellor.
9. A Lack of Trust
Every relationship has some sort of secret, and there is nothing wrong with trying to maintain privacy. However, if there are excessive secrets, hidden truths and dishonesty, it will start affecting the relationship. These include hidden friendships, dishonesty on financial expenses and lies regarding specific events.
It will cause both partners to realise that something is going wrong with the relationship, which will eventually cause a lack of trust among them. As a result, they will no longer feel motivated to work on the relationship, and the level of communication will likely drop even further.
10. Major Life Changes
A significant change or life transition can also cause couples problems and complications. These might include buying a house, moving to a new place, giving birth, suffering from a severe illness, making a career change, etc. These changes affect the lives of both partners, which might cause some problems in future.
These changes might come with additional work pressure and responsibilities, causing partners to fail to invest time in developing the relationship. Constant stress and pressure cause them to fight and argue regularly. Here, it can be helpful to consider a relationship counselling option.