Whatever challenges you are facing in your relationship, now could be the ideal time for you and your partner to grow to new levels of intimacy and self development, while you find mutually satisfying solutions to your current problems. The greatest challenge lies in how to be true to yourself while staying in relation with the other. Although communication is important, the problem is often not that two people fail to communicate—they just do not want to hear what the other is saying! Dr. Bennett’s approach is to help each person to identify what is most important and find ways of holding onto that, while also recognizing the partner’s needs and wants. It is normal as a relationship moves from short term to long term for people to “hit a wall” and feel stuck, misunderstood, angry, and lonely, while still together. The way out is the way into personal growth, while working within the relationship. Conflict becomes an ally, not the enemy, to achieving greater harmony. Not easy—but it is the path to renewal. This form of therapy helps couples (straight, LGBT, monogamous or polyamorous) develop better ways to solve problems within the relationship, whether financial, sexual, emotional, or other issues, while growing as individuals.
Highly recommended reading: David Schnarch’s Passionate Marriage