How Long Will My Marriage Counseling Last?

What is the average length of marriage counseling? Most people who come for couples counseling Wake Forest NC want to know how long will their couples counseling last.

With so many therapeutic modalities out there, this is an excellent question you should ask at the beginning of your therapy. However, the answer to this question is not as clear-cut as the question; the answer is that it depends.

How long will your couples counseling Wake Forest NC last depends on a number of different factors.

Your Trauma History

Firstly, the length of your therapy depends on your trauma history. By trauma here, I don’t mean significant trauma experiences such as sexual assaults, death in a family, or anything profound like that.

Your trauma history may involve small but still important traumas that are impacting your psyche and your relationship.

These can involve things like feeling lonely and abandoned by a significant other, feeling sad and confused, struggling with anxiety, or not having anyone there for you.

Such ongoing psychological distress can cause significant harm to your mental health and well-being, requiring extensive inner work. 

Many people try to handle this emotional burden on their own, without knowing how to reach for support or believing that they can rely upon themselves to cope.

Your Attachment Style

Early childhood experiences can have a profound impact on your emotions, character, attitudes, behavior, relationships, and sense of well-being.

Two people who commit to each other never get just one another. So along with yourself, you bring your history and previous relationships (including those with your primary family) into your marriage.

Dysfunctional family interactions and insecure attachment styles can affect your personality, causing significant distress in your adult relationships and well-being.

Insecure attachment styles typically involve some sort of early trauma. However, a child who grows up with secure attachment learns to connect with others meaningfully while maintaining autonomy in emotional relationships.

Secure attachment in childhood leads to healthy dependence in a relationship, allowing you to bond with your partner while developing as an individual.

On the other hand, people who were neglected or abused by their primary caregivers tend to become people-pleasers or emotionally withdrawn, believing that they can never rely on others.

So, suppose you are coming from an unhealthy family. In that case, you can expect your couples counseling Wake Forest NC to last longer. 

Your Emotional Flexibility

How long your marriage counseling will last also depends on how comfortable you are with being uncomfortable or how emotionally flexible you are.

Being emotionally flexible means how fast you are going to be able to question your belief system, thinking patterns, and all conditioning you inherited while growing up.

In the psychotherapy process, you learn how to unlearn all that and learn new patterns of thinking and behavior, so you can start growing new neural pathways in your brain.

How Long You Have Been Struggling

The most critical factor determining how long your coupes counseling Wake Forest NC will last is how long you have been struggling in your relationship.

Marriage counseling typically lasts differently for couples who have struggled for two years and those whose marriage problems have lasted for decades.

Suppose you haven’t been able to communicate, meet your needs, and connect over decades. In that case, it can take much longer to rebuild trust and safety and learn to reconnect with your partner meaningfully.

Summary

So, couples counseling Wake Forest NC can be a lasting process, deepening how long you will need to regain emotional safety in your relationship.

In couples counseling Wake Forest NC, you can expect deep work within an evidence-based approach.

Based on my personal and professional experience, it takes about a year or so (sometimes even longer) to make the change that will be sustainable over time and last, helping you rekindle closeness and trust with your partner.

Long-term effects of your marriage counseling can only be achieved if you commit to assimilating your therapy insights into your day-to-day life.

If you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment in my Wake Forest or virtual office, do not hesitate to book your free 15 min phone consultation online by clicking here.