How Couples Therapy Can Strengthen Your Relationship

LOUIS LAVES-WEBB LCSW, LPC & ASSOCIATES HOW COUPLES THERAPY PSCHOTHERAY TORADULTS. ADOLESCENTS. AND COUTLES CAN STRENGTHEN YOUR RELATIONSHIP Emotion-focused counseling can benefit couples in healthy relationships as well as those in crisis, but most couples wait an average of six years from the first signs of problems to get help. Find out if couples counseling is right for your relationship. COMMON MYTHS ABOUT COUPLES COUNSELING "It's too expensive" 2/3 of marriage counselors are willing to lower their rates According to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), couples therapy costs: -20% less than a psychologist's fees -30% less than a psychiatrist's fees Under certain criteria, couples therapy may be covered under most health insurance plans "We're past the point of reconciliation" "It's just the last step before the inevitable divorce" JUST 3% of couples divorced 4 years after completing insight-oriented marital therapy according to one study NEARLY 1/3 of marriages last after an affair has been admitted to or discovered "It doesn't make a difference" "It takes too long" 12 SESSIONS: median length of family therapy 65% of cases are completed within 20 sessions 30% Family therapy generally lasts ABOUT 1/2. of all highly-distressed fewer sessions than individual therapy marriages in a 2011 study showed persistent signs of improvement 5 years later BENEFITS AND STATS 3.4% 752,370: of households have seen a Marriage and Family Therapist total number of couples in family Family therapy has been shown therapy per year to reduce health care use by 21.5% PATIENT FEEDBACK: 98.1% 97.1% 91.2% 93% rated services got the kind of help were satisfied with said they were helped in dealing more effectively with problems good or excellent they desired the amount of help they received 96.9% 94.3% 97.4% 63.4% would recommend their would return to were generally reported improved therapist to a friend the same therapist in the future satisfied with the physical health service they received AN APPROACH THAT WORKS: FUSING GOTTMAN'S RESEARCH BASED COUNSELING AND EMOTION-FOCUSED COUPLES COUNSELING Following the best practices of two of the most successful, results-driven methods in couples therapy to improve patient outcomes -86% of couples made Science-based, goal-oriented therapy is used to help couples: significant progress on conflict management after completing research-based couples workshops Increase respect, affection, and closeness Break through and resolve conflict Generate greater understanding between partners 35% of Keep conflict discussions calm Compared to marriages showing improvement Maintain lasting relationship improvements with traditional therapy methods The 4 Ps of Emotion-Focused Therapy: Goals: Expand emotional responses Present Moment Primary Affect Create new patterns of interactions Process Positions/Patterns Foster secure bonding between partners Results: 70-75% recovery rate within just 12 sessions 86-90% showed significant improvement Over 5 TIMES LESS LIKELY 7% compared to 38% to show resentment after 2 years than traditional therapy Sources http://www.gottman.com/marriage-couples/ http://guidedoc.com/is-marriage-counseling-covered-by-insurance http://www.statisticbrain.com/infidelity-statistics/ http://www.marriageguardian.com/marriage-counseling-statistics.html http://www.aamft.org/imis15/Content/Consumer_Updates/Marriage_and_Family_Therapists.aspx http://www.gottman.com/private-therapy/ http://www.emu.edu/graduate-counseling/sue-johnson-training-follow-up/sue-johnsonpre.pdf http://www.psychpage.com/family/library/eft.html