No, couples therapy isn’t only for people about to get divorced.
I’ve heard time and time again, “but we aren’t about to get divorced, so we don’t need couples therapy.”
Think of couples therapy as exercise. You are not going to exercise only when you get lab results back saying your numbers are bad. You are most likely going to workout as a preventative measure. Sure, some couples come to therapy when they are on the brink of divorce, just like some people start working out when they have a doctor’s appointment go poorly or when something happens in their life (heart attack, etc.).
But what happens when we take a proactive approach to our issues? You get to work on small issues that could turn into larger problems the longer they go without being addressed. For example, ever feel like “my partner just isn’t understanding what I’m saying! No matter how many times I say it!”? Learning how to communicate the same idea in a different way can reduce frustration and stress within your relationship. Proactive therapy can help you learn how to communicate with each other in a healthy productive way, so that when something arises that may be a challenge in your relationship, you can handle it effectively.
Be proactive in your relationship, not reactive. Know it is okay to seek help even when you feel like your issues aren’t “big enough.” The earlier you can intervene in unhelpful patterns, the earlier you can get your relationship back on the right track.