Marriage Counseling Is Available For Couples Finding It Stressful Being Cooped Up Together

Marriage counseling is available with Terri Dichiser, a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Kansas and Missouri, via teletherapy during the coronavirus pandemic. Stay inside, they said. Don’t leave the house. Whether following guidance for those who may have been exposed to COVID-19 or choosing to self-isolate to help slow the spread, people around the world are faced with managing relationships with family members and partners while in close confines for weeks on end.

So what happens now that spouses are staying home all day, and many unmarried couples suddenly find themselves quarantined together? Succumbing to the negativity effect, which even in ordinary circumstances is the chief threat to couples — and can be an absolute relationship killer in these troubled times of COVID-19. The negativity effect is the brain’s tendency to respond more strongly to negative events and emotions than to positive ones. In short: Bad is stronger than good. Partners are responding differently to the fear, anxiety, and uncertainty this virus creates, which can translate into disagreements including how they stay virus free. One partner might be experiencing more anxiety with the constant news, health concerns, managing children’s days and financial effects.  They turn to their partner for needed support which they don’t find and instead end up in an argument.

Terri uses Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) during marriage counseling. EFT is counseling therapy based on more than 20 years of clinical studies with proven results for couples in crisis. With EFT, Terri utilizes therapy and marriage counseling to help couples recognize the negative patterns they have established in their relationship and offers tools and strategies to break those patterns to create a renewed sense of safety and security with your spouse.

Finding good things to focus on:  That trove of photos and videos of vacations, outings, and celebrations that you’d never had time to go through. Now you do. These can be a source of positivity at any time, and couples stuck at home together can use them to happily “nostalgize”—a verb coined by social psychologists who have discovered remarkable benefits in reliving the past. Nostalgia has the potential to lift people’s spirits, make them feel more connected to others, and heighten the sense that life has continuity and meaning.  Marriage counseling with Terri during self-isolating and quarantine because of the coronavirus can help you feel more connected to your spouse. Instead of feeling that you’re “cooped up” together, you can enjoy reminiscing about your marriage.

Seeing the opportunity for your relationship.  Let’s inoculate our marriages against fear, anxiety and uncertainty. Everyone is on edge and when we feel uncertain, anxious or irritable we often direct that at the one we love the most.  Let’s also recognize we are often arguing over mundane items instead of talking to our partner about our deeper fears and concerns.  Our negative and old patterns of interacting emerge.  We have the opportunity to learn new and creative ways to connect rather than getting caught in blame and criticism.   Marriage counseling provides an opportunity for a new future for your relationship.

It is a good time for couples to create quality time for themselves, and now, because of COVID-19, couples have more time than ever. Use it wisely – and positively. If you and your spouse are having a tough time, marriage counseling with Terri is available.

For information about marriage counseling, call Take Charge, Inc. at (913) 239-8255. To make an appointment, click here.