How to Prepare for Couples Counselling: 6 Ways to Get the Most from Your Sessions

calmingthecircle
May 29
3 min read

Updated: May 29

Starting couples, counselling can feel like a big emotional leap, but it can also be the beginning of a stronger, more connected relationship. Whether you're navigating a rough patch or simply want to deepen your connection, preparing for therapy can help you and your partner get the most out of the experience.

At Calming The Circle Therapy in Mooloolaba, we support couples across the Sunshine Coast in building trust, improving communication, and navigating life’s challenges together. Here's how to get started.

1. Commit to the Process, Together

Couples therapy works best when both partners are willing participants. It's not uncommon for one person to feel more enthusiastic than the other, especially in the beginning. That’s okay, but having a conversation about why you're doing this and what you each hope to get from it is essential.

Approach therapy as a team. Reassure one another that this isn’t about assigning blame, it’s about building a shared foundation of understanding, empathy, and growth.

2. Clarify Your Intentions and Goals

Before your first session, take some time individually and as a couple to reflect on what you’d like to improve in your relationship. This helps your therapist tailor the work to your unique dynamic.

You might ask:

Where are we feeling stuck?
What do we want more of, connection, clarity, support?
How do we handle conflict, and is it working?
Are there patterns or arguments we keep repeating?

Setting clear goals, like better communication, rebuilding trust, or reigniting intimacy, can keep you focused and motivated during the process.

3. Be Ready to Share Openly

Vulnerability is the gateway to connection, but it can also be uncomfortable. Therapy is a safe space to explore your emotions, past hurts, and fears without judgment.

Before your first session, try journaling about what you’ve been holding back or find hard to express. Identifying your internal landscape makes it easier to articulate your feelings when the time comes.

4. Expect Discomfort (And Growth)

Counselling can feel confronting at times. You might be asked to reframe old narratives, own your part in conflict, or sit with uncomfortable truths. This is all part of the process.

Be gentle with yourself and your partner. Growth rarely comes without discomfort, but it does lead to breakthroughs. You’re not doing something wrong if therapy feels hard; you’re doing something courageous.

5. Allow Space for Emotional Recovery

Talking about relationship challenges can be emotionally draining, especially in the early sessions. Make time after therapy to decompress, either alone or together.

Go for a walk, enjoy a cup of tea, or simply rest. Giving yourself space to reflect will help you process what came up in session and support longer-term integration.

6. Choose the Right Therapist

The success of couples counselling also depends on finding a therapist who makes you feel safe, heard, and supported. At Calming the Circle Therapy, we use an integrative approach, combining Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT), Internal Family Systems (IFS) and the Gottman Method , alongside holistic mind, body and soul connection techniques. We are trauma informed and recognise that there are two individual in a couple, both navigating their own internal complexities alongside their relational difficulties.

If something doesn’t feel quite right, speak up. Therapy is most effective when both partners feel comfortable and respected.

Starting Couples Therapy on the Sunshine Coast

No relationship is perfect, but every relationship has the potential for growth. With the right support, communication tools, and mutual effort, couples counselling can help you transform your relationship with yourself and your pattern, reconnect, realign, read down barriers for growth and rediscover the love that brought you together.

If you’re ready to begin, we’re here to support you, online or in-person at our Mooloolaba therapy space.