Marriage is an important phase in everyone’s life, but maintaining a healthy one isn’t an easy feat.

Regardless of how long that you’ve known your spouse or how much you love each other, there will always be conflict and arguments.

If you find that your marriage is stressful and unhealthy, you can seek counselling to improve relationships; marriage counsellors are trained to dissect common issues faced by married couples, and to help them resolve these in a healthy and effective manner.

To paint a clearer picture of how beneficial marriage counselling is, take note of the following:

1. Learn how to resolve conflict in a healthy manner

Conflict is a natural part of marriage, but not knowing how to resolve it can eventually cause severe stress to the parties involved.

In fact, unresolved conflicts can cause bigger problems in the marriage – problems that could trigger a spouse to file for divorce or become unfaithful.

One of the benefits that you and your spouse can experience when the two of you utilise marriage counselling is being able to resolve conflicts in a healthy manner. A marriage counsellor will equip you with effective communication skills to help you hear your spouse and actually listen to what they’re saying.

Moreover, a marriage counsellor will teach you essential skills that’ll help you to mediate conflict and become more self-aware.

2. Counselling teaches you to communicate more effectively

Communication is key in every relationship.

Your marriage won’t prosper if you or your spouse don’t know how to communicate properly. The number of years for which the two of you have been together isn’t an assurance that you can instantly determine what they’re thinking about and vice versa.

Marriage counselling is a great platform to teach you and your spouse to communicate effectively. Through a marriage counsellor, the two of you will learn how to voice your needs openly and clearly so that you both feel heard and valued.

3. Counselling helps you see from another perspective

One of the reasons why married couples argue about the same issues over and over again is because the two of them bring the same perspectives back to the argument.

People often see situations from their own points of view and refuse to accept other people’s opinions, which is why they wind up in the same situations or arguments.

When you start applying what you’ve learned in marriage counselling, you’ll notice a drop in frequency of arguments, as the counsellor will help you to navigate your spouse’s emotions and thought processes, and vice versa.

Having a third party will enable you to see other perspectives, because it helps you to understand how your spouse views the marriage and its problems.

4. Counselling works as a safe space

Usually, people run to their friends and family whenever they’re fighting with their spouse. Your social circle will always have your back, but often, they’ll take your side even when you’re wrong.

Having people who’ll listen as you air out your frustrations can prevent you from burning out, but this doesn’t guarantee that it’s beneficial for the marriage in the long run.

Marriage counselling functions as a safe place because the counsellor won’t choose either side. What they’ll try to do is illuminate both sides of the situation, and hear both parties without judgement.

You can think of a marriage counsellor as a neutral third party, who presents facts about the marriage without bias, as they’re loyal to neither you nor your spouse.

5. Counselling restores intimacy

Intimacy is important in a marriage because it allows the couple to feel safe and connected, and creates a positive cycle that can strengthen the relationship.

However, for couples who’ve been married for decades, physical and emotional intimacy might be lost. This is especially true for married couples juggling several responsibilities such as work and kids.

Another benefit that you can enjoy from marriage counselling is being able to restore the intimacy in your relationship.

A marriage counsellor will guide you and your spouse in revealing underlying issues that have caused a loss of intimacy, and implement techniques that can restore intimacy in the marriage.

Choose carefully

Marriage counselling is necessary for many couples, so expect to find several professionals who offer this service. You’ll be surprised at the number of options available when you do a quick search online, or ask your married friends for recommendations.

When choosing a marriage counsellor, make sure to work with someone who shares the same values as you and your spouse and has a proven track record in the industry.

Working with a marriage counsellor who possesses these qualities will allow you to get better results from the service.