Sometimes it takes a sympathetic outsider to help people look at their lives and relationships and to find the solutions. With all the stresses of work, family and finances, it’s not uncommon for all the burdens to affect interpersonal relationships. Counseling services offer a neutral sounding board for people going through emotional and relationship difficulties. Talking things over with a sympathetic listener and counselor can give people the confidence to make positive changes in their lives.

A sympathetic conversation can work wonders
When you’re going through a difficult time, it can be difficult to put your life and problems in perspective. This is especially true for younger people in their thirties. They are at a stage of their lives when they are trying to establish themselves in their careers as well as starting a family. Workplace and financial stresses can affect their interpersonal relationships.
Counseling and couples therapy can help by providing a sympathetic, non-judgemental listener. Trained therapists are qualified to help people, individually or through couples counseling, to understand and confront their problems. This is the first step to finding solutions. Counseling services can give an individual or couple the confidence to make or accept changes that will make their lives more stable and fulfilling.

Couples therapy works
Couples who have tried counseling services have found them to very effective in helping to resolve issues. As many as 93% of people who have used therapy services felt that they had the tools to deal with the problems facing them. In addition, they reported some unexpected benefits: improvements in their health and in their functioning at work.
Further, a survey conducted by the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists found that among people who had used counseling services, nearly all, or 98% said that the help they received was good or excellent. And 97% felt that they got the help that they needed.

Empowerment through marriage counseling
Marriage counseling services work by offering hope and strategies. Couples are encouraged to explore the negative patterns in their lives and relationships and to develop skills and techniques to deal with these. They also learn about healthy communication to improve and grow their relationship.
Counseling services can be a very effective way of empowering individuals to deal with relationship difficulties. In any situation, it’s best not to wait until it’s too late to begin counseling.
Another advantage of family and marriage therapy is that it is also typically less costly. It costs anywhere from 20 to 40% less than seeing a psychologist or a psychiatrist.

People who use counseling services find themselves empowered to deal with their difficulties. By gaining the tools and skills to identify and counteract negative patterns, they are enabled to break free of them.