5 Tips to Get Free Couples Therapy for Relationship Support

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Have you tried scanning the Internet for free couples therapy to form a strong base for a healthy marriage or relationship? It’s good to go for such therapeutic opportunities for your relationship even before you suspect any minor or major issue. 

Do you know the United States of America once had the third highest divorce rate in the world? This trend has compelled couples to seek professional help from relationship experts even more. 

These days, people have options of availing free or low-cost marriage counseling to address relationship conflicts rather than contributing to increasing separation rate. 

But just an extensive Internet research will not help couples gain trusted and free relationship therapy. 

Not all the sources available online that offer free couples therapy are legitimate and beneficial.

Then again, free couples counseling options are limitless. Local community centers, churches, forums, discussion groups, and other sites are there that offer free marriage counseling and information to address your relationship needs. 

Before we help you with information on how to avail free couples counseling, it is better to understand the term, ‘couples therapy.’

What is couples therapy?

Couples therapy is a kind of psychological therapy where a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) or other licensed mental health professional (psychologists, social workers, etc.)  help two individuals gain valuable relationship insights, resolve conflicts and handle interpersonal relationships properly. 

The therapist conducts a variety of therapeutic sessions to treat the estranged partners and help them find proper solutions to their problems. One can also look for couples therapy for boyfriend and girlfriend.

But, it is advisable to approach an experienced and licensed therapist, irrespective of the charges one might have to bear. Consider it a one-time investment that you and your partner need, so stop looking for local couples counseling options at best.

Benefits of paid or free couples therapy

Also known as paid/free relationship counseling, couples therapy or marriage counseling helps resolve many relationship conflicts by letting the partners understand each other better. Paid or free couples therapy allows individuals to reach the root causes of conflicts. Its benefits can be listed out as:

• Helps gain an in-depth understanding of one’s relationship dynamics
• Provides a third-eye perspective which is free of bias or preconceptions
• Gives you a safe space to express your concerns and vulnerabilities without the fear of judgment
• Helps discover each other’s needs, wants and concerns from a fresh perspective
• Provides effective and strategic solutions to resolve the ongoing and probable issue

How free online therapy with therapists can save your relationship

Almost all married couples go through conflicts and disagreements in their relationship at some point of time. While communicating your issues with your spouse is the most reliable way to sort them out, it cannot guarantee a solution in the time of need. 

A free online couples therapy or counseling is one option to go for in such situations. There are many affordable and free online therapies available to help out distressed couples. These are effective, easily accessible and of course free of cost, which make it a preferable option for couples.

Affordable & free online therapy with a therapist

Opting for free couples therapy with a trained and experienced therapist can have multilevel benefits. It provides a reliable support system to improve your relationship and allows you to rediscover your position in your romantic life. 

A free online relationship counselor or free online therapist can help you identify areas of dispute where you put your maximum efforts.

Engaging in online counseling with a certified health professional is as easy as attending an online seminar from the comfort of your home anywhere in the US. You just need to find an appropriate and free online therapy that suits your preferences and is most likely to assist you in your pursuits.

5 useful tips to get free couples therapy

A couple seeking therapy will often have severe issues to deal with, and it is always best to have a trained and professional person handling the process. However, considering the sad picture of the economic reality, most couples have to witness, a lot of them find it hard to afford couples therapy. 

Therapy is often billed by the hour. Depending on the gravity of the issues between the partners, those hours can pile up! 

At the same time, it is important to consider your insurance coverage and minimal copays. Some insurances do reimburse for couples’ treatment and depending on the insurance, you can get good deals.

Professionals also offer a “sliding scale” when clients have financial difficulties. You can search around and ask about this so that you can pay a more reasonable fee than many private practice costs.

Here are some suggestions to find free or almost-free couples therapy.

How to get low-cost marriage counseling?

It is highly unlikely that the Internet can help you find free couples therapy. But don’t lose hope! There are alternate ways by which you can get free relationship counseling, and they are worthy of your time. But the best part is either they are free or will not charge you much.

Let’s see the options you have for free couples therapy.

1. Do the work yourself

While most therapy is not free, this section will provide some information about how to get help while also keeping your finances in mind.

There are a number of self-help books and videos that will guide a couple on how to repair a martial issue. While this is not free, since you will need to purchase the book or the videos, it is a more cost-effective way of doing therapy. 

This method will require the partners to be disciplined and willing to do the work that is required. 

Once purchased, these books or videos can be used again and again throughout the marriage or relationship to deal with ongoing or future issues.

Related Reading: How to Stand Up for Yourself in a Relationship

2. Free therapy in your insurance plan

Owners of insurance plans tend to focus more on general medical care, dental and eye care. However, sometimes couples therapy is hidden within the medical services offered in an insurance plan. 

This service may be totally covered or allow for access to a limited amount of free therapy sessions.

Take the opportunity to review your current plan; speak to your insurance representative or human resource manager and understand how you can make the best of out it

Related Reading: Does Health Insurance Cover Marriage Counseling Cost?

3. Use a friend or family

While it is always best to seek the services of a trained professional for couples therapy, a friend or family member can be a great substitute when your financial resources are low.

Take help from a friend or family member who has the capacity to remain neutral and who is good at conflict resolution. This is someone that both you and your spouse should agree on and someone who you can trust with your personal and intimate information.

Sometimes, marital issues can best be resolved with an opportunity for each person to express how they feel with a third party there to mediate.

Related Reading: The Correlation Between Friendship and Relationship

4. Google it

Try putting in an internet search “free couples therapy near me” or words similar to that. You might be surprised at the opportunities that may be available in your community, locality, or city. Often medical clinics, training schools or a new practice may offer free couples therapy.

Look out for similar opportunities in the newspaper or by asking around in your neighborhood.

5. Church and religious institutions

Many churches and religious institutions offer free marriage therapy. There are times when this service is extended to the general community, but often, it is restricted to members of that specific church or institution.

There are many Christian marriage counselors available in churches these days. If you or your partner is a member of any such nearby church, this can present a great opportunity to get free couples therapy or Christian couples counseling for relationship support. 

Therapy that is managed by a pastor or church leader is oftentimes pursued with the objective of keeping the couple together and working with them to repair and rebuild the relationship. 

Couples therapy in the church is viewed as part of the church’s outreach and welfare and can be quite helpful in maintaining a happy marriage.

Some more relevant questions

Now that we’ve answered the questions related to finding and reaping the benefits of free couples therapy, we hope you’re more motivated to resolve your short-term and long-term relationship problems. Let’s try to answer some more questions which might help you further.

• How to do self couples therapy?

It may sound weird to some people, but you can do some self-help therapy at home for you and your partner. Curate a list of activities that you can do together that will strengthen your bond as husband and wife.

It can include doing a couple of chores together, sharing at least one of the day together, shopping for each other and making sure that you discuss and sort out your minor issues before ending the day. Self-couples therapy depends entirely on your willingness to act and improve your relationship.

• How long do couples usually go to therapy?

The duration of couples therapy depends majorly on the number and intensity of issues between a couple. A therapist will first understand the situation and accordingly decide the number of sessions required for the therapy to be successful. 

Some couples can wind up their therapy in 4 to 8 sessions while others can take up a whole year to settle their issues. A standard therapy session takes up to around 45 minutes depending on the availability of the married couple. 

It is purely subjective as to how much push both partners need to finally reach a common ground.

Free couples therapy is the solution you’ve been looking for!

There is nothing wrong with wanting to find free or inexpensive routes of couples therapy. It shows that you are willing to make efforts to mend your relationship and create a happy environment for yourself and your partner. 

In fact the shame lies in not seeking the outside help that may be needed to deal with the issues at hand in your relationship. Go ahead and make the best use of the suggestions shared above to discover and avail yourself a suitable free couples therapy.