What is Couple Therapy for Depression?
Couple Therapy for Depression helps people suffering from depression. It uses their relationship as a resource to help support the individual and their partner.
Depression and its effect on relationships
People who are depressed often find their relationships suffer and sometimes problems in the relationship can lead to one or other partner becoming depressed or anxious. Couple Therapy for Depression deals with the depression and the relationship distress.
Why consider couple therapy?
You may benefit from couple therapy for many reasons. It may be that the relationship has broken down or that there is a concern that it might. Sustaining a fulfilling and stable relationship is never easy.
Couple therapy aims to help you to achieve:
- recovery from depression.
- better communication and ability to work together.
- greater awareness of each of your needs and more understanding of your differences.
- being less stuck in repeating patterns in your relationships.
- help with feelings of anxiety and stress in facing the challenges of your relationship.
- help with coming to terms with life changes such as the arrival of children, bereavement or separation.
- An improved sexual relationship if needed.
How does it work?
Couple therapy helps those who are suffering from depression. It helps to reduce things that make partners feel alone and distressed, or which push partners apart and make them feel angry. It improves your relationship by helping you both to work together on the things that create unhappiness. You can move on from repeating and sometimes hostile patterns of interaction.
It helps you to understand each other at an emotional level as well as a practical one (how you feel and what you do). It also gives you the skills and understanding you need to move forward. This can lead to a happier and more fulfilling relationship in which your differences are not so problematic. This can then relieve depression which in turn can improve your relationship.
What can you expect from your couple therapist?
Your therapist will not take sides. Although they may sometimes feel challenging to one or other of you. They will point out things that you might not be very aware of, but which make your relationship less satisfying than it could be. They will also build on the strengths that you already have as a couple.
