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Does going to therapy or couples counseling really help solve all the issues that are tearing apart a relationship? This is the question most people are pondering as they grow desperate to save a marriage they really are not ready to let go of. The big question is whether talk sessions with someone else can really work for two people in crisis.

If you fall into this category seeking help with marital issues, it all hinges on how you go into your therapy sessions. You have to realize right from the start that there is no guarantee that someone else can fix your marriage. Ultimately, the real work has to be done by you and your spouse.

Yet, counseling or therapy can really work if both of you go into it with the right mindset. The problem is that most go into it with the attitude that this third party will see that they are right and their spouse is wrong. They want validation, not objectivity.

You both have things that you do completely right and other things that you are screwing up. The job of a couples therapist is to help you sort out the real issues from the futile so that you can fix this mess you mutually created.

The issues that must eventually be brought to light during therapy are the ones that lie beneath all the petty squabbling. A husband may argue to death that his wife never cleans the house but the real issue is likely that he feels she does not love and value him enough to keep the house clean for when he comes home from work. That is the issue the therapist cares about.

There are deeper issues driving those petty arguments, and until those are fixed you will continue to fight over every little thing.

So, what do you do to make your sessions actually work? You go in with a selfless attitude. You just listen to what your spouse has to say without getting up in arms or being defensive. You have to genuinely listen to how they think and feel without placing blame.

Let’s consider an example. A man goes into a session and hears his wife saying how lonely she is. He feels this is an attack on him for not being home and he starts saying how he is the one always working and she just sits at home. She is now defensive as well. Yet, what would have happened if he just heard that she was lonely and did not make it about his work pattern? What if he just simply listened?

In order to save a marriage with the help of therapy, this husband would have to be willing to quietly listen to his wife talk about the loneliness without automatically assuming it is directed as an assault on him. He has to listen selflessly for it to work.

Find out more: Save A Marriage or Signs of Infidelity or Save A Marriage How To