Couple Therapy for Depression
About this Therapy
Couple therapy for depression aims to improve relationships by helping couples identify and work together on things that create unhappiness. We will find out how you and your partner can move on from stuck and even hostile patterns of relating. It aims to help couples build upon the strengths in their relationship and understand the way in which difficulties in the relationship can contribute to depression in one or sometimes both partners.
This therapy is for couples who are together and where one or two experience depression.
How Can Couple Therapy Help?
It can help you to:
• Communicate more openly and clearly.
• Be more aware of their partner’s needs.
• Become less stuck and change repeating patterns in their relationship.
• Have a greater understanding of their partner and themselves.
• Manage feelings of anxiety and stress which arise from the challenges in their relationship and family life.
• Come to terms with life changes which might have triggered depression, such as becoming parents or losing a loved one.
Additional Benefits of Couple Therapy
• A more stable family life
• Self-discovery
• An improved sexual relationship
• Reduced jealousy
• Increased confidence
What to Expect
Your couple therapist will begin with trying to get a picture of what you and your partner find difficult in your relationship and how this is affecting you both. Sometimes your couple therapist may suggest ways for you to improve your communication and this may involve some “homework”. Sessions are 50 – 60 minutes long and offered once a week. It is important for both partners to attend sessions (apart from some of the assessment sessions). The number of sessions involved in a course of therapy can vary and your therapist will discuss this with you at the outset