Communication Skills – The Key to Couples Therapy
Sandrina May 7th, 2007
In the face of ever-increasing divorce rates in South Africa, many couples are now turning to counselling and couples therapy for assistance. Considering that as many as two thirds of all marriages end in divorce, it’s not surprising that couples might want to reach out for an external “life-raft”. Studies have shown repeatedly that amongst the major causes of failed marriage, is the lack of appropriate communication skills, or the inability to convey or receive information accurately and effectively.
We’ve all heard the stories and even the myriad jokes about men being from Mars and women from Venus. In fact, in most cultures the sexual communication gap is well recognised and past generations have often down-played it’s importance. However in today’s society where the survival of the family unit is becoming increasingly more fragile, and divorce proceedings more acceptable and easy to complete, those couples honestly seeking a means to bridge the communication divide can take comfort in the knowledge that couples therapy is a ready alternative to simply throwing in the towel.
In instances where children of the marriage are involved, divorce is often thought of as a last resort option and in many of these cases, couples therapy has shown to deliver exceptional results.
The main focus of couples therapy is of course to facilitate communication between the couple while identifying behavioural patterns which undermine the effective delivery and reception of the true intent of the communication. This process often serves as a great stress relief for both parties as they become increasingly more aware of the fact that they are often “saying” the same thing to each other (and are actually in agreement), however their base terminology, vocabulary and perception of concepts is different. There are of course varying degrees of communication difficulties and each marriage has it’s own unique dynamic which require attention.
If you are currently facing marital difficulties which you feel require intervention in a couples setting, please feel free to contact me and we can discuss your needs and availability to schedule an appointment for couples therapy.
