Couples Counseling Harrisburg, PA

Every relationship is unique. When we commit to a partnership, whether we get married or choose not to, we bring our personal issues and challenges into the relationship. In other words, love is wonderful – but it’s not perfect.

At Neurofeedback & Counseling Center of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, we can give you the help you need. Our experienced Harrisburg PA counselors work with clients to resolve marriage and partnership issues, providing a neutral place for you to explore the challenges in your relationship.

Why Do People Seek Couples Counseling?

Couples counseling or marriage counseling can be necessary for both new couples and long-established couples. Even when you love your partner deeply, issues can arise that make it challenging to keep your relationship happy and healthy.

People usually come to couples counseling for one of three underlying reasons:

They feel disconnected from their spouse or partner.
One or both partners feel unhappy with the relationship.
One or both partners’ need for intimacy is not being met.

It can be difficult or even feel impossible to communicate with your partner when you feel disconnected, unhappy, or unsatisfied. These feelings lead to issues that make it apparent that you need couples counseling to get back on track.

Benefits Of Couples Counseling

While the underlying issues that cause trouble within a marriage or intimate relationship are similar, they manifest themselves in various ways. Here are some ways to tell if you and your partner could benefit from couples counseling.

You fight or bicker all the time. When every minor disagreement turns into a battle, it’s a sign that you need help working out your differences.
You’re not communicating healthily. Sometimes, when a relationship is in trouble, you feel like the two of you are speaking different languages and that you need a translator.
You struggle with the same issues all the time. When one issue looms large, such as money or sex, it can be difficult to resolve without help.
Your sex life is suffering. Differences in sexual needs and satisfaction can move beyond the bedroom and cause unhappiness and strife in your relationship.
One of you has had an affair. Infidelity is almost always a sign that something else is wrong in the relationship.
You’re pretending everything is fine when it’s not. Stifling your feelings isn’t healthy and can hurt your partnership.
You’re about to undergo a major life change. Even if everything seems good on the surface, a major life change – such as having a baby, buying a house, or starting a new career – can strain your relationship.

We think it’s important to note that not everyone who comes to couples counseling or marriage therapy is having trouble with their relationship. Some couples choose to come to marriage counseling even when things are good because it provides them with the tools that they need to keep their relationship strong and healthy. Marriage and couples counseling is a beneficial service for all.

Does Couple Counseling Help?

When you’re in a relationship, it can be challenging to express your needs in a way that’s productive and healthy. Our Couples Counseling in Harrisburg, PA, provides a safe, objective, and non-judgmental space where you and your partner can discuss your issues and healthily resolve your problems.

The goal of couples counseling is to help intimate partners resolve communication difficulties and other issues with an experienced therapist acting as a guide. You will learn:

How to set and maintain healthy boundaries in your relationship
How to communicate in a loving and healthy way
How to use conflict resolution strategies to navigate disagreements and difficulties
How to strengthen your relationship through healthy communication
How to face and resolve future problems while minimizing conflict

Your therapist’s job is to act as a mediator and guide. Our experienced counselors work directly with clients, making sure to understand each partner’s perspective and emotions with objectivity. Then, they work with both partners to facilitate healthy and loving communication.

Couples Counseling: Is it worth it?

The goal of couples counseling is to work through problems and make your relationship stronger. If a relationship is worth preserving, couples counseling is worthwhile. Couples who do not reconcile their relationship issues often end up divorced or separated. In addition to the financial value, mental and emotional value is gained when couples therapy provides a successful outcome. About 98% of couples that use therapy services say the sessions were helpful.

Couples Counseling: Insurance and Costs

When couples struggle in their partnership, they often turn to couples therapy for help. Unfortunately, the short answer is that couples therapy is not covered by insurance. Health insurance companies cannot decide whether a relationship is unhealthy, so they cannot pay to make one healthy again. Couples counseling is looking at the couple as a whole and not as individual units and health insurance is for individuals.

Since couples therapy is not covered by insurance, the easiest way to get couples therapy is to make an appointment. You will receive a bill for each session. To make couples counseling successful, most therapists suggest their clients attend a session at least once a week. Couples counseling costs vary based on the provider's location, education, and experience. The price for online versus in-person couples counseling is the same, as COVID-19 has created a greater need for virtual counseling sessions.

Consider it an investment in yourself and your relationship. Couples therapy is like going to the gym. You pay the gym so you can use their equipment to improve your fitness. At couples therapy, you pay the counselor to help you in improving your relationship. It is beneficial to note that couples therapy costs are much less expensive than paying for divorce and living with the consequences for a lifetime. Paying for separate households, potential child custody issues, and legal expenses makes couples therapy sessions seem like a bargain.

If You Would Like to Improve Your Relationship, We Can Help

At the Neurofeedback & Counseling Center of Pennsylvania, we understand that even happy relationships can have rocky periods sometimes. We believe that marriage counseling and couples counseling provide our clients with the skills they need to strengthen their relationships and ensure a happy, healthy future.

We offer both in-person and virtual counseling sessions for married and unmarried couples. Note that marriage counseling is not covered by insurance. Please click here to complete our contact form and get started.