There is no such thing as a perfect relationship, but that doesn’t mean that couples shouldn’t strive to maintain a happy, healthy relationship. Plenty of people believe that there’s room for improvement between themselves and their romantic partners. This isn’t to say that the relationship is “bad,” but it’s easy to understand why someone might want to do away with even mild disagreements within their marriage or partnership. For these reasons, some New York couples seek either sex therapy or couples therapy in NYC.
Let’s explore the various ways that beginning sex and/or couples therapy can save relationships.
Sex Therapy vs Couples Therapy in NYC
These terms are often used interchangeably, but couples therapy and sex therapy are not quite the same thing. Much like how medical assistants and nurse practitioners are both considered professionals in the medical field, sex therapists and couples therapists are also both mental health providers. In this comparison, the nurse practitioner and sex therapist have received specific training in order to provide unique services.
Some sex therapists provide an array of therapies just like a couples therapist, but a couples therapist can’t perform the same services as a sex therapist unless they’ve become qualified to do so.
Furthermore, some couples therapists tend to focus on relationship issues and don’t delve very deeply into the complexities of human sexuality. To further differentiate the two practices, some sex therapists don’t work with couples if their specialty focus is on addressing individual issues (such as trauma, erectile dysfunction, etc.).
Before starting therapeutic services, it’s important to consider your therapeutic goals so that you can choose the right professional. In some cases, the intake specialist at the office you visit can help point you in the right direction when it comes to choosing a therapist.
Therapeutic Objectives
Each type of therapy aims to address, manage, or treat an array of issues an individual or couple might be facing. Sex therapy focuses on the medical, personal, or psychological setbacks that may be affecting one’s ability to experience sexual satisfaction.
Common concerns or conditions a sex therapist can evaluate may include:
- Lack of interest in sex
- Low or excessive libido
- Difficulty experiencing arousal
- Inability to reach orgasm
- Premature ejaculation
- Erectile dysfunction
- Troubling sexual thoughts/desires
- Unwanted or unexplored fetishes
In some cases, a sex therapist might also evaluate non-sexual issues an individual or couple deals with. In other situations, a couples therapist may be a more appropriate option.
Couples therapists work to address the concerns and issues stemming from several aspects of the pair’s relationship.
These issues might include:
- Relationship roles and dynamics
- Family finances
- Lack of quality time together
- Conflicts when raising children
- Personal beliefs and value systems
- Difficult relationships within the family
- Stressful surroundings
- Dealing with infidelity
Couples therapists may also explore sex and intimacy-related issues in general, but their level of service provision in this area can greatly depend on the therapist’s qualifications and what they feel comfortable with.
How Can Sex or Couples Therapy in NYC Help?
Seeing a couples therapist or sex therapist can help strengthen the romantic relationship that exists between two (or more) individuals. Though each type of therapist may offer services that differ from the other, there are several outcomes that both therapy types can produce.
Improving Communication
Effective communication is a skill that plenty of people lack, and in a relationship, these underdeveloped skills can be detrimental. Both sex therapists and couples therapists can help clients strengthen the way they communicate, which encourages participants to remain more in sync with one another.
Therapy might help individuals or couples learn how to have more constructive disagreements by enhancing their communication skills. This development helps keep conflicts in check and offers up more constructive ways to come to an agreement during difficult situations.
Addressing Underlying Concerns
Therapists also help individuals and/or couples approach, evaluate, and resolve hidden issues that might be weighing on the relationship in question. For example, when one individual in a pair is dealing with insurmountable stress, or one person is struggling to overcome a painful illness, the strain each party is feeling can potentially pollute an otherwise happy relationship.
When these issues come up during a couple’s therapy session (or marriage counseling session), the therapist can lead the individuals involved through numerous exercises that aim to present a solution.
Building or Rebuilding Trust
Whether a couple is struggling with the devastation of infidelity, trust has been broken in some way, or one individual within the couple has trouble trusting others, therapy may be beneficial.
A therapist can help the individual or couple explore what happened to break their level of trust, whether this breach can or can’t be repaired, and which steps each party needs to take from there. By following through with therapy, the individuals involved can find ways to either gain closure after a traumatic circumstance or explore healing approaches together.
Developing Meaningful Connections
Therapy can help couples understand one another more effectively and learn about the other’s unique communication and interaction styles. Appreciating and accepting the wavelengths both parties exist upon can make it much easier for the individuals in question to connect in ways that translate as equally valuable for everyone involved.
When one individual understands his or her partner’s love language, he or she then becomes better able to interpret the other’s words, body language, and behaviors. Compare it to learning a new language. When one person becomes fluent in the other person’s language, he or she can then communicate and connect with them more effectively than ever before.
Increasing a Couple’s Intimacy
Through therapy, like couples counseling sessions, participants may be able to build upon the existing intimacy they share. Whether this intimacy is sexual in nature or simple intimacy two people should share, therapy can encourage couples to prioritize expressing affection, love, and appreciation for one another.
If you’re considering couples therapy in NYC for yourself and/or your partner, visit Modern Intimacy. Our team can schedule a consultation with you and after evaluating your goals and needs, we can ensure that you’re paired with the right therapist. Each of our therapists is experienced and highly professional, so rest assured that you’re in the best possible hands.
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