Romantic Relationships

Romantic relationships can be difficult to manage because they involve deeper than usual levels of emotional intimacy and vulnerability. They require vulnerability and emotional closeness to succeed. If your earliest relationships were emotionally unstable or unsafe, emotional closeness in childhood and romantic relationships in adulthood can often seem risky and trigger anxiety and troublesome behavior. Romantic relationships can be really hard and difficulties within these relationships can show up in many different ways. Sometimes the problems you are noticing in your partner may be occurring as a result of what you are doing or are not doing in the relationship.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Here are some signs that you or your partner should consider seeking help from a skilled psychologist to assist you in improving your happiness— within yourself and within your relationship:

• You behave in erratic or self-destructive ways when you are in a relationship

• You repeatedly make the same mistakes in relationships

• You struggle to form and sustain meaningful connections

• You lack trust and/or avoid intimacy in your relationships

• You believe that your emotional needs are not being met, or you hide your needs from your partner (which leads to your needs not being met)

We want our relationships to succeed, but without the skills to resolve conflict, relationships can deteriorate and eventually fail. Relationship conflict often results in extreme feelings of distress, and can lead to chronic anxiety, depressed mood, irritability, unhappiness, hopelessness, and physical health problems. Instead of hoping relationship difficulties will go away on their own, pursuing professional help early on can prevent these problems from worsening. Effective psychotherapy can provide you with the insight and skills to improve your romantic relationships, and can help you take an honest look at the quality of your relationship to determine if and how it can be repaired. A well-trained, expereinced professional can assist you in getting to the bottom of your relationship difficulties, and can work with you to find options for relationship repair that you never even thought were possible.