Do you know this love hack? "Elvis Presley song Can't Help Falling in Love" or the best love romantic movies?
Can falling in love last forever?
When you first fall in love and the feel-good hormones are high, it’s easy to think that this feeling will never end and “love” will carry you through any bumps in your relationship road. Even if you have struggled in previous relationships, you think that maybe this time it will be different. Unfortunately, when the “honeymoon” phase wears out and everyday life becomes mundane, all those little things you ignored at first start to become more important. You may find yourself irritated at your spouse or partner, you may begin criticizing each other, which makes you defensive and you end up in fights. Sometimes it seems like the fighting, hostility and/or stonewalling is more prevalent than the good times and you wonder if you made a huge mistake. Maybe you wonder if you just aren’t compatible, or you question your motivation for getting together such as you were desperate to get out of your parents’ house or you were just immature and didn’t know better. You worry that if you don’t make changes soon, you will end up breaking up or divorced.
You decide to get some professional help but how do you decide what kind of help to choose? You could go to a relationship or couples counselor or you could choose a relationship coach. Is there a difference? If so, what and how do you choose?
Relationship counseling typically explores relationships by looking for patterns of early childhood attachment problems, psychological disorders, personality problems and wound healing. It works towards symptom reduction and increases personal insight.
Relationship coaching focuses on setting goals, understanding and expressing desires, getting new perspectives, learning skills, improving listening, inspiring personal change and making improvements in communication.
Typically a relationship counselor has a masters degree and holds a professional license such as a Licensed Marriage and Behavioral Therapist or a Licenced Professional Counselor. They can also provide relationship coaching.
A relationship coach often does not have a professional license and may or may not have a coaching certificate or education in the area of evidence based practices. That doesn’t mean that they can’t be helpful.
When looking for professional help to salvage your relationship, consider finding a relationship counselor that has experience in both counseling and coaching techniques. This way, you get the best of both worlds with evidence based research and techniques as well as helpful goal setting, accountability and inspiration.
