170: How to Encourage Your Spouse to Join You in Couples Therapy in 5 Simple Steps

In this episode, you will learn about the benefits of couples therapy and discover practical steps to inspire your spouse to attend therapy. You will also learn how to approach your spouse who may be resistant to attending therapy, and how you can present therapy as an opportunity rather than an obligation. Overall, this episode emphasizes the importance of communication, understanding, and patience in working through relationship issues.

In This Episode, You’ll Hear About The Following:

• Benefits of couples therapy for improving the overall health and happiness of a marriage
• Personal experience with couples therapy and its positive impact on a relationship
• Challenges of convincing a spouse to attend therapy and practical advice for approaching the topic thoughtfully
• Bridging the gap between the current state of the relationship and desired goals

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• About harsh startups – How to Fight With Your Spouse Without Ruining Your Marriage
• An example of what couples counselling looks like
• Dr. Rosenberg, the author of Nonviolent Communication

Discussion Prompts For You As A Couple:

1. Why do you think it’s important to bring up the idea of couples therapy when we’re both calm and emotionally connected? How do you think bringing it up during a fight would impact our conversation?
2. According to Dr. Gottman’s research, how does the way we approach conflict influence its outcome? Why do you think it’s important for us to approach difficult conversations in a non-threatening manner?
3. What are some effective ways we can ask each other if we’re willing to have a conversation about our relationship? How can we ensure that we both feel valued and heard during these conversations?
4. Have you ever considered writing a loving letter to initiate a conversation about our relationship? How do you think this approach could be helpful for us, especially if one of us has difficulty expressing our feelings in the moment?
5. Why do you believe it’s important for us to understand each other’s view of a healthy and happy relationship before considering couples therapy? How might our understanding of what we want in the relationship affect our willingness to attend therapy?
6. Can you think of a time when we had difficulty understanding each other’s perspective on what was preventing our relationship from improving? How do you think we could navigate such challenges and gain a clearer understanding in the future?
7. Could you share an example of a time when we had a productive conversation about what was missing in our relationship? How do you think that conversation contributed to our growth as a couple?