Relationships

We face many relationship difficulties independently of the partner’s personality. It is not easy to think that the situation itself creates tension, meaning that the conflicts root is that two individuals need to build a shared life together, rather than it being the personality of the partner in itself. This way of thinking on its own can lead to a more hopeful attitude toward difficulties. Whether it is communication problems, emotional or physical distance, crises linked to life changes, carrying the burden of parenting tasks or struggles around having children, or even working through different life goals and values, the right professional can help a lot. Our past can also play a role in how a relationship develops. Childhood traumas and the patterns we bring from our families of origin can influence how we function in our relationships from under the surface.

If you work on your relationship difficulties within an individual process, that can not only improve your relationship, but can also have a significant positive effect on your overall mental and emotional well-being.

However, it is important to know that you can come to us not only alone with relationship problems, but together with your partner as well.

Couples therapy is a psychotherapeutic tool that helps understand the history of how dynamics between the two people developed, make sense of the present, and build a more adaptive, more comfortable future.

As a basic principle, we believe that both partners contributed equally to the problems that have developed, and that their shared way of functioning, actions, and reactions together created them. Nobody is „at fault” – or everyone is equally „at fault”, if you like, but change can only happen by working together.

You may need couples therapy if:

• you keep going around in the same circles, yet there is no progress in getting your relationship back on track

• you want an objective safe space around you so you can share your thoughts and feelings with each other more easily

• you want to change certain patterns but you cannot do it without outside help

• you do not have the right communication tools to express yourselves or to respond to the other person

• a serious crisis has come up in your relationship

• things have happened that you cannot process on your own

• an unwanted change has happened in your sex life

• you are struggling with parenting

• trust has been broken in your relationship

• you are having a hard time coping with completely natural changes that are connected to different relationship cycles

We would also like to point out that couples therapy is worth seeking not only when there is already “a big problem” — we consider prevention, or preserving a good state, to be essential. There is no fixed time window; you do not need to be middle-aged or married for decades to want to organize your relationship life this way. It is absolutely a smart decision to take part in a couples therapy process in a new relationship, in marriage, or even before marriage.

We do not enjoy having to say this separately, but we still think it is important to mention that within the walls of Tabuk Villája, there is no place for any kind of discrimination. The well-being of every person is equally important to us, so we warmly welcome members of the LGBTQ community to our couples therapy sessions just as we do in our individual counseling sessions.

Frequently asked questions

Is it worth going to a psychologist alone if my partner is unwilling to go to couples therapy?

Yes, because the reactions and new coping strategies you develop in an individual process can also move the dynamic between the two of you in a positive direction.

Can the relationship be saved with couples therapy if we are already thinking about divorce?

Therapy helps clarify the real feelings and the root of the conflicts, so in many cases trust can be rebuilt and separation avoided.

How many sessions are needed before we feel improvement in our relationship?

Depending on the depth of the problems, improvement in communication and a decrease in tension are usually noticeable after 10-15 sessions.

Is it too late to go to therapy if we barely talk to each other anymore?

It is never too late to start working together, because the professional gives you communication tools that can help you open up to each other again.

Can we come to couples therapy as an LGBTQ+ couple?

Yes, in our practice every couple – regardless of sexual orientation – receives accepting, safe, and completely prejudice-free professional support.