Last updated on August 2nd, 2023.
You and your partner have issues at home, have been for years, and finally decide to see a couples therapist for your marital problems. Talking, you guys choose to, for convenience, do online therapy, but you are a bit unsure of how it works because you’ve never done this before. Doubtful, you guys take the time to research tips and tricks for doing couples therapy online.
Three tips for doing couples therapy online are limiting distractions, agreement on scheduling sessions, and conducting therapy from separate rooms. There are many approaches to treatment, and a better need to understand couples therapy and the benefit of doing it online.
Read more about couples therapy, how to do couples therapy online, and some of its benefits, along with three tips for doing couples therapy online.
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What is Couples Therapy?
So, what is couples therapy? Couples therapy is a form of psychotherapy designed to help you and your partner improve your relationship and help rebuild trust, better communication skills, etc. Both parties typically attend Couples therapy to obtain help and guidance from the therapist on how to understand better how to function as a couple properly.
Couples therapy can be conducted both online and in person. Many, for convenience-sake, prefer online treatment, but others who are starting with treatment may be unsure or apprehensive about how to do online therapy with their therapist.
Let’s continue reading to learn more about doing online couple’s therapy.
How do I do online couples therapy?
Online couples therapy is essentially the same as if you were doing it in person. Once you and your partner have scheduled with the therapist, typically, on the morning of or the day before, you will receive an email with a link to enter the platform where you will be conducting your sessions.
The platform will be secure, and it is essential to ensure that your internet is fast and working along with your audio and video quality. And once you log into the platform and turn on your audio and camera, you will be able to see your partner if they are in a separate room and your therapist.
There are many forms of online therapy where couples can have their sessions with reputable therapists. However, some wonder if platforms such as TalkSpace can be used for couples therapy.
Continue reading to know whether couples can use TalkSpace for couples therapy.
Can Couples use Talkspace?
So, can couples use TalkSpace to conduct their sessions? Yes, they can utilize TalkSpace. They can work their sessions from the comfort of their own home on their phone, tablet, or cellphone within a private and shared room with the therapist. They will also have unlimited text, video, and audio messaging with their therapist.
And when you are trying to find a match with a therapist through platforms such as TalkSpace, you may be wondering what kind of therapist is the best for a couples therapist.
Continue reading to know what kind of therapist is best for couples.
What kind of therapist is best for couples?
The best kind of therapist for a couple is an LMFT therapist. LFMT stands for License Marriage and Family Therapists. These therapists specialize in helping couples and families support them with issues they have and want to resolve. Depending on needing therapy, if the situation goes as far as abuse and addiction on either side, then an LMFT may have social workers involved depending on the severity.
There are many reasons why a couple may want to attend therapy sessions together, given from person to person.
Let’s continue reading to learn about some of the different reasons couples may go to therapy together.
Why Couples May Go to Therapy Together?
There are many reasons why couples may want to attend therapy together. These reasons can include, but do not exclude:
- Infidelity
- Finances
- Abuse
- Intimacy issues
- Health
- Premarital
And with these issues, when finding a couples therapist, there are various approaches to helping couples resolve their issues and come to a better understanding of one another.
Let’s continue reading to learn about some of the different approaches to couples therapy.
Different Approaches to Couples Therapy
Approaches to couple therapy can vary from couple to couple, given the situation and what the therapist feels is the best way to handle sessions.
To be ready for your sessions, there’s always recommendations on what things you should not say to your therapist for a better therapy session.
Let’s continue reading to learn about four different approaches to couples therapy.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help couples focus on removing negative thoughts and habits that have been repeated throughout their relationship after identifying some of the causes for those thoughts and patterns that have been putting a strain on the relationship. CBT is often a gradual progression and is more structured than other therapy approaches.
Solution-Focused Therapy
Solution-focused therapy focuses on couples with a specific issue that they want to resolve, usually applying key principles of strength-based practice. This type of therapy is suitable for teams needing short-term guidance instead of long-term with being provided strategies for resolving conflicts that arise between the couples.
Gottman Method
This therapy method will help couples better understand each other and their dynamics to assist with resolving any issues that you are having in your relationship. The goals of the Gottman method include more shared trust between the couples, better commitment, more empathy towards one another and fewer arguments.
Relational Life Therapy
Relational life therapy is another form of couples therapy that can help partners improve their communication skills, resolve their conflicts, and take accountability. With this form of therapy, the therapist will view the couple’s issues from a societal perspective, as well, due to roles that society has placed on the opposite sex as far as what their roles “have” to be.
These various approaches to therapy can be done and become effective in-person and through online therapy, as well. Couples who want to seek treatment for convenience will choose online therapy but need understanding and guidance on specific tips and tricks to have a smooth session.
Continue reading to learn more about three different tips and tricks for doing your couples therapy online.
3 Tips for Doing Couples Therapy Online
Couples therapy can be new territory for some partners, mainly conducted online. You and your partner can implement various tips to ensure that you guys have a progressive, distraction-free session with your therapist.
Continue reading to learn about three different tips for doing couples therapy online.
1. Limit Distractions
Limit distractions around you as much as possible before your sessions begin with your couples therapist. Ensure that all phones are off or on silent and your kids are in another room, or have a babysitter, parent, or friend watch them for your session with the therapist.
2. Agree on Scheduling Sessions
Ensure that you and your partner agree with the couple’s therapist about dates and times to conduct them. Understandably, people are busy, but the entire point of couples therapy and seeing a couples therapist is to have them work together and progress through your issues.
So, for example, if you have kids and want to have sessions with your partner, find a babysitter or have them stay at a friend or family member’s house. Any roadblocks that you and your partner may come to can conflict with your scheduling of sessions, sit down together and brainstorm solutions. You can also find 3 online conscious parenting resources that would help you in finding balance with your family.
3. Join From Separate Rooms
Consider joining your online therapy from separate, quiet rooms. During their sessions, those who together tend to feel less comfortable and apprehensive about fully expressing how they are valid feelings. They will not have to worry about this from separate rooms by themselves. Joining from different rooms can also benefit couples who have to conduct their sessions separately, anyway, due to where they may be.
It is essential to ensure that you make sure the audio and video from the telehealth platforms are working correctly.
Among these tips, some still may be skeptical about continuing with therapy; however, there are benefits of having couples therapy sessions.
Continue reading to learn more about some of the benefits of doing couples therapy.
Benefits of Couples Therapy
Various benefits go along with doing couples therapy with your partner. Continue reading to learn about the six benefits of doing couples therapy with your partner.
A Better Understanding of Each Other
You and your partner will better understand each other, your dynamics, and experience where you are standing and want to go with your relationship with one another and what changes can be implemented to make that work. With couples therapy, talking it out and clarifying your feelings for one another can help with having a better understanding of how to handle things going forward.
Identifying Issues Within Their Relationship
You better understand the relationship dynamic between you and your partner. Understanding the dynamic can also help you identify any issues that you and your partner have that has become a pattern. In placing these issues within your relationship, you will be able to work towards resolving any roadblocks that you both have with the help of a couple of therapists as they provide various strategies for you two to implement into your day-to-day life together.
Learn Better Coping Skills
Better coping skills to situations that may arise in your relationship can help produce a better relationship dynamic between you and your partner. Learning coping skills through your couples therapist and utilizing them outside of your partner’s sessions can be a great way to have practical communication skills between you and your partner.
Improving Communication and Regaining Trust
An issue for many couples is communication, and trust begins to become broken within that. To prevent this trust and communication from becoming irrevocably broken, couples therapy helps prevent this. The therapist may have you and your partner practice your communication skills both in the sessions and outside and report back how it may or may not have gone.
In improving your communication skills, you are also attempting to rebuild your trust with your significant other. With the help of a couple of therapists, Regaining trust can be a positive step forward between both parties and ensure that open and honest conversations can be had without fear of an argument or judgment from one another.
Seeing Other Perspectives
Usually, when you are in disagreement with your spouse or partner, it isn’t easy to see from their perspective, only providing yourself with a single lens perspective.
With couples therapy, as you and your partner are airing out your feelings to one another, the therapist can act as a sounding board and, possibly, bring up perspectives from both sides of the spectrum that you or your partner had maybe never even thought of, offering you a whole new view of things.
In recognizing these different perspectives by both the therapist and the attending parties, there can be a light being open to new forms of communication and understanding specific feelings and emotions between partners.
Ability to Air Out Their True Feelings
In couples therapy, a therapist is essentially a mediator who periodically chimes in and out when needed to be. Both couples will have the advantage of speaking their peace provided in a safe space without fear of interruption and, importantly, judgment from everyone else.
Usually, if couples do not attend couples therapy, they will feel they cannot display how they are genuinely feeling, whether emotionally or verbally. With couples therapy, you can do so.
Closing
So, if you and your partner want to conduct therapy with them, then using resources such as TalkSpace can be a great way to conveniently and from the comfort of your own home have therapy sessions with your partner. Along with this, you have also learned about the concept of couples therapy and various tips for doing couples therapy online.
