4 Ways to Convince Your Partner to Go to Therapy
Are You Ready To Attend Couples Therapy, But You Can’t Quite Get Your Partner On Board? Here Are Four Things To Keep In Mind As You Gently Try To Persuade Them To Go With You.
Couples therapy is a great place to safely share any struggles you and your partner are having in your relationship. Even the happiest and strongest of relationships are going to have their ups and downs.
Our expert team at Empowered Mind-Body Therapy offers emotion-focused therapy for couples to help each individual share and process their emotions in a healthy and productive way.
However, what do you do if your partner is reluctant or unwilling to attend therapy with you? Here are four ways to broach the subject with your partner while still maintaining love and respect.
1. Approach the subject at the correct time
If you haven’t really talked about couples therapy in depth, or at all, it’s important not to spring the idea on your partner, especially if you feel they’ll be pretty resistant and defensive. Try to set aside a specific time that won’t be stressful for either of you so you can discuss it calmly and thoroughly.
2. Reach out with care, not judgment
Your tone conveys a lot. Make sure you avoid accusations and an angry attitude. Approach the conversation with a tone of care and concern, emphasizing that your desire to attend therapy comes from wanting a healthy and happy relationship for both of you, and that problems you may be having are not totally on them.
3. Be open about benefits of going
When talking about the idea of going to couples therapy, it’s important to talk about how therapy will benefit you, and how not going to therapy could harm your relationship. Be open and honest about the reasons you’d like to attend therapy sessions and your fears should you not go.
4. Debunk misconceptions
There are some common excuses to not go to therapy, including:
- It’s too expensive
- Therapists don’t actually care about you
- It’s uncomfortable talking to a stranger
When your partner is sharing their worries about why they don’t want to attend therapy, always take the fears seriously and don’t shut them down. Instead, offer correct information.
If they’re concerned about privacy, help them understand that therapy is always confidential. Also remind them that a relationship with a therapist is built over a long period of time while building trust and rapport.
If your partner still seems unwilling to attend couples therapy, you may need to wait and bring up the subject again at a later time. Forcing someone to go to therapy is never the answer; doing so could even add to the issues you’re already experiencing.
If you’d like more information on what couples therapy looks like at our practice in Los Alamitos, California, you can call us at 562-600-2831 or click the book online scheduler on our website to request an appointment with us today.