If you are having serious problems in your relationship, like infidelity, but want to save it, maybe because you still love each other and/or have children together, individual counselling at this precarious stage may actually do more harm than good!
Why do I say that?
1. Individual counselling or psychotherapy usually focuses on the interests and well-being of the client in the room. When things are looking bad in a relationship, it may seem that to struggle on will take a huge toll on the individual. The therapy may therefore be biased against maintaining the relationship.
2. The counsellor or therapist only hears one side of the story and it is therefore difficult to assess how viable the relationship actually is and how much the other person wants to work on things.
3. Major relationship problems like infidelity are unique to relationships. It is important that each partner understand the particular relationship dynamic underlying the problem and also how their partner experiences the problem from his/her perspective. This is essential to restore communication and to re-establish trust. This process can’t be kick-started in an individual counselling context. I fimly believe that couple counselling in this type of situation is the only way to go!