What to expect from marriage counseling in your first session
Finding the right couples therapist in Birmingham, AL can be a challenge. But after reading the previous blogs, you might have finally found a counselor/therapist who seems helpful, qualified, and available.
You have scheduled your first session, now what can you expect?
You will fill out our paperwork prior to your couples session
This will give our counselors a window into who you are as a person and as a couple. This paperwork is tailored for marriage counseling and asks specific questions that we ask each person to answer so we can better understand who we are meeting with and what are the current issues that are frustrating you as an individual and as a couple.
2. Our initial couples counseling session is 2 hours long
Most sessions last 55 minutes but in the first session, we like to meet with our couples for 2 hours because there is a lot to cover. We will briefly go over our policies and procedures as well as introduce ourselves. Having a 2-hour session allows us to cover the structure of therapy and what to expect, introduce ourselves and then also begin taking a thorough history of our relationship together.
3. We will begin to set goals for your relationship in the initial couples counseling session
If we don't set goals we don't know the targets that we are aiming for. Our goal as your therapist is to help you look in the mirror and begin addressing what dynamics you are personally bringing into the relationship that you need to change. We will help you to try and stop blaming the other person and to look at your part of the relationship that you can change. By each of you changing your own individual dynamics, this can really help your intimacy as you move closer together.
4. We will look at ways you have already tried to repair and fix your problems
Many couples come into counseling exasperated and tired. They have tried things before and they are in the same place. Nothing has helped and they are hopeless that nothing will ever help. We can look at those interventions that did work and those that did not. Counseling can help you discover new ways to care for each other in ways that are meaningful to both of you.
I hope this helps you find the right therapist in Birmingham, AL. If you are still feeling stuck, feel free to call us at (205) 538-3978 or email us at hello@sparrowcounsel.com for a free 15-minute phone consultation. We’d be happy to hear about what is happening and help direct you to the right person.
