Relationship / Marriage / Family Counselling
Bring back the love and strengthen your bonds with our relationship, marriage, and family counselling services!
Our experienced counsellors will work with you and your loved ones to address and resolve any conflicts, improve communication, and foster deeper connections. Whether you’re struggling with relationship issues, seeking support during a marriage crisis, or looking to improve family dynamics, we’re here to help. With a safe and non-judgmental environment, you’ll be able to work through your challenges and build a happier, healthier future together.
Mode of Counselling: Both In-Person/Online Counselling
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Relationship/Marriage/Family Counselling for Psychological Issues
Being in a relationship can have a profoundly positive effect on your sense of self and well-being. The benefits of sustaining good relationships are well documented: people in healthy relationships tend to live longer and experience less physical, emotional and mental health issues. Conversely, being in a relationship beset by problems can have a crippling effect on one’s self-esteem, and capacity to live life to the fullest. Saying “relationships are hard” is so common that it’s a cliché now. But it’s also true. Even when people get along really well, stress and daily life can cause conflicts that seem difficult or even impossible to resolve. Relationship counselling can help people in these tough situations to work through their problems, move beyond them, and be better partners overall. While relationship counselling is often used to address problems, it can be helpful at any stage of a relationship. People in healthy, happy relationships can still benefit from counselling that strengthens their communication and connection. Many people believe that you should only seek relationship counselling when separation or divorce is looming. But that is often too little, too late. Relationship therapy should begin as soon as the problems get in the way of your daily life.
Here are some signs that you might benefit from a consultation:
- You have trouble expressing your feelings to one another
- You have one or more unsolvable disagreements
- There is withdrawal, criticism, or contempt in your interactions
- A stressful event has shaken your daily life
- You have trouble making decisions together
- You have experienced infidelity, addiction or abuse
- You want a stronger relationship
Remember that there are no wrong reasons to seek relationship counselling. Some couples start therapy as soon as they are married, even without obvious problems, to build a strong foundation and prevent serious problems from developing. Counsellors can help you become better communicators, develop strong relationship skills, and improve your family’s happiness.
Keep in mind that the average couple waits six years before seeking therapy. This is a lot of time to let problems fester; at this point, troubled relationships are difficult to save. Instead, it’s best to acknowledge problems early and seek therapy as soon as possible. Problems with relationships are not limited to romantic ones, even though that’s the most popular reason people consult for relationship therapy.
Marriage Counselling:
Marriage counselling is a kind of psychotherapy that helps resolve conflicts between couples and improves their relationship. It is often offered by family and marriage therapists to enable a couple to make decisions about rebuilding their relationship or going their own separate ways. It usually includes both partners coming for counselling, but sometimes one of the partners may choose to work with a therapist alone. In CCS, we do counseling separately for each partner. So even one partner is not willing for counseling, we are open for counseling the partner who is willing to undergo counseling. The treatment plan depends on the situation. While our intentions towards our spouse are usually good, there are several influences, behaviours and stresses that can test even the strongest bonding. The main issue is that couples usually bring to therapy are high levels of conflict and growing mutual distance. Major life changes and daily stresses can put pressure on the relationship too. No matter what the cause, it’s best to tackle relationship issues sooner than later – just as you would do for any health ailment. Experts say that on average, a couple waits for 6 years to get help. And that’s unfortunate because the sooner you seek counselling, the better your chances of saving the marriage.
Every year, thousands of couples around the world turn to marriage counselling to work out their issues. One of the advantages of the therapy is that it can help to identify patterns within the relationship that lead to issues. Couples also learn how their actions and reactions affect the other person. Marriage counselling helps you to rebuild your relationships and make your life sound and happy. Marriage counselling is also called couple counselling which is done to resolve the problems between couples, either married or unmarried. The therapist will inquire about your history and expect both you and your partner to be honest, open and talkative. Marriage counselling is often a long-term process and few sessions are required to solve the differences.
Family Counselling
Family counselling is a service available to anyone struggling to cope with family or relationship issues. Many people contact the family counselling service for advice about day-to-day problems, conflicts or crises in the family. Our counsellors have a duty of client confidentiality.
Relationship & couples counselling works
The good news is that there is hope for those struggling with relationship issues. A growing body of evidence-based on decades of couples counselling research – suggests that with appropriate therapeutic support, couples can overcome relationship issues and live happy, fulfilling lives together. Closeness, communication and commitment are the keys to authentic intimacy.
Common relationship issues
If you’re experiencing difficulties in any of the areas listed below, you’re not alone. When problems arise in these areas, couples often seek help. Rest assured that all of these concerns may be addressed and resolved with effective couples counselling:
- Communication issues
- Financial problems
- Loss of intimacy
- Lack of honesty
- Loss of trust
- Infidelity
- Sexual difficulties
- Controlling or abusive behaviour
- Blended and extended family issues
- Perceiving the relationship as one-sided
How relationship counselling can help you
Relationships are as individual as the people in them. Each relationship presents unique circumstances and challenges, particularly when there are different backgrounds, personalities and value systems involved. Your counsellor or psychologist will form a collaborative alliance with you. Together, you will identify key areas for change and learn practical tools to help you and your partner create a mutually beneficial, rewarding relationship.
We can help you and your partner:
- Improve communication
- Manage conflict
- Cope with stressors
- Increase emotional and sexual intimacy
- Minimise criticism and blaming behaviours
- Identify and nurture relationship strengths
Chennai Counseling Services counsellors and psychologists use proven, evidence-based therapeutic techniques such as Gestalt Therapy, Person Centred Therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy as part of integrative therapy to help our clients create successful and happy relationships.
Specialist Relationship Counsellors and Psychologists
Seeking expert support is crucial for those wishing to improve their relationships. Setting achievable relationship goals and exploring healthy communication skills are the keys to enhancing your relationship, and living a life together that is free of unnecessary conflict and stress. Chennai Counseling Services psychologists and counsellors are qualified, experienced and competent to provide you with the specialist services you need.
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Frequently Asked Questions
We have answers to common questions people ask
When couples/family members face many issues, generally they try to correct by talking within themselves. When there are many issues, talking may turn into arguments. When it does not work, they try to resolve by approaching the elders or common friends or well-wishers. Though talking to them may resolve some issues, there are many limitations. In the busy life, friends and family have their own problems and may not be listening very carefully and unintentionally end up giving advices that may actually prove more harmful than helpful.
What is right or wrong is highly contextual and untrained people may not be able to understand that. So there is surely a possibility that they can influence you with their personal values and judgments and may take sides. Moreover they can be biased unconsciously because they have preconceived notions about you.
So when these strategies do not work well, relationship is strained further. Thus it is better to meet a counsellor who would help both of you to improve your mental health and problem solving abilities.
When it is done, you will be able to talk within yourselves without turning it to be an argument and solve the issues. So that you don’t become dependent on external sources such as a counselor to solve the issues.
It depends on various factors. However it can be said that minimum of 1-2 sessions for each person will be required to make it harmonious. Only after few sessions, you would be able to see the behavioral changes as the first few sessions would be utilized to work on emotions and/or thoughts. Behavior change would become permanent only if there are changes in the emotions and thoughts. Making changes in the emotions and thoughts may take some time and that’s why you need to be patient till the process gets over.
You can choose to take appointment according to your convenience. You will be paying for one session only. If you want further sessions, you can book.
No, it is fine. Even if one partner/family member comes, it is still possible to work on the relationship. Please fix 1 appointment slot and come for counseling.
The counselors @ CCS are trained in the approach which believes that marriage/family is a private affair and no one (not even a counselor) should enter into it and so the role of the counselor is to help the couple to own the relationship and make it better.
100% confidentiality is the basic principle of counseling and by having joint sessions, it is highly compromised. Because both of them/many people are present, they do not want to talk openly about their thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Most of the time they end up telling socially desirable things in joint sessions which would not serve the purpose of having marital counseling.
In joint sessions, many clients have felt hurt when his/her partner/family member talks something bad about them and so they undergo trauma while listening to it. So joint sessions are more harmful, reduce the well being of the clients and worsen the situation which is against the aim of coming for marital counseling. The counselor would also be seen to be taking sides when he tries to empathize with one person which would further hurt the other.
The counselors follow Teleology (a school of thought in Ethics) which says “what is right and wrong” is based on the consequences and contexts. There is no absolute standard of what is right. Our counselors will help you to have a non judgmental view about your partner/family member and thereby increase the harmony of your relationship.
Initially counselor will listen to you completely without any bias and empathize. Further he will assess your personality. Assessing your personality is done because what works for one person will not work for the other person. Based on your personality, counselor will either work on your thoughts or feelings or behaviour.
There won’t be any joint sessions and counselors will not offer any advice to adjust or say which is right or wrong. Instead he will help you to examine your thoughts, feelings and behaviour in the relationship and correct it on your own. Counselor believes in empowering the clients to own the marriage/relationship and thereby resolve issues in the way that is realistic for them.
Further sessions are for follow-ups and ensure the maintenance of the new behaviour and no triggers can make you feel bad or get into deeper issues in the relationship.
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