Common Challenges For Most Couples/Relationships

  • Differences in priorities, identities, and values

    • Gender norms and differences (socializations and norms)

    • Racial identity and differences (interracial issues)

    • Ability status and differences (interabled relationships)

    • Cleanliness

    • Time, timeliness, and being late

    • Accomplishments

    • Status

    • Finances and how to spend money

    • And more

  • Negotiation of labor and household tasks (division of labor)

    • Groceries

    • Cleaning

    • Fixing household items/repairs

    • Landscaping

    • Laundry

    • And more

  • Child rearing and raising children

    • Raising children in a certain faith or no faith at all

    • Socialization

    • Norms

    • Punishment

    • Rewards

    • Education

  • Spirituality and beliefs

  • Financial issues

    • Spending too much

    • Frugalness and spending too little

    • Scarcity

    • Growing up poor

    • Growing up rich or wealthy

    • Differences in financial situations

    • Differences in financial situations growing up

  • Intimacy issues

    • Physical touch

    • Emotionality

    • Vulnerabiltiy

    • Sharing or internalizing

  • Sex issues

    • Discrepancies in sexual desires and libido

  • Changing and growing with your partner through the years

    • Illness

    • Transitions such as moving, changing jobs, losing a job, etc.

    • Value changes

    • Goal changes

  • Making agreements

    • Collaboration

    • Working together

    • Compromising

  • Having each other’s backs

    • Creating a couple bubble

    • Understanding thirds/outsiders that threaten the health of your relationship and partnership

  • Trauma and neglect

    • Trust and mistrust

    • Esteem and worth

    • Identity

    • Intimacy

    • Impacts of trauma on the relationship

  • And more

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What Is The Goal of Couples Therapy?