[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]One of the pillars of marriage is trust. Breach of trust in the marriage can be in the form of deception, or broken promises, and can damage the trust between the partners severely.
There are numerous ways in which a partner can violate the trust which is as follows:
- when a partner is emotionally or physically unavailable.
- Incapability of partner to take key decisions about the family.
- Insufficiency of partners to keep their significant other’s concerns into consideration.
- Unfaithfulness and lying continuously to their partner.
As a consequence, it creates insecurities, doubtfulness, and anxiety between the partners. However, this does not mean that relationship cannot be retrieved. Even though the process of rebuilding trust can be tedious, with proper couple counseling and the willingness of both partners, the trust can be restored.
Ways of rebuilding trust:
Rebuilding a romantic relationship can be challenging, but using Gottman’s method can be a helpful tool in improving communication and providing a roadmap for couples to navigate their way back to a fulfilling partnership. This method is a popular approach to repairing and strengthening romantic relationships. Let us look at the key principles of the approach.
The first step is to establish a “love map,” which involves getting to know your partner deeper by asking open-ended questions and actively listening to their responses. This helps build intimacy and trust. It’s important to build a culture of appreciation and fondness by expressing gratitude for each other’s positive qualities to counterbalance the negative feelings that may have developed over time.
Next, focus on enhancing your communication skills. This involves practicing active listening and expressing your needs and emotions clearly, and being careful to validate each other’s feelings, expressing empathy and understanding, and avoiding negative communication patterns such as criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling.
Couples can work on deepening their emotional connection through shared experiences and meaningful conversations.
Gottman’s method also emphasizes the importance of managing conflict in a healthy way, by using communication techniques and finding solutions that meet both partners’ needs. This includes identifying and addressing underlying issues, taking responsibility for your behavior, and seeking compromise rather than trying to “win” arguments.
Finally, it’s important to nurture your friendship and fondness for each other. Spend quality time together, show appreciation and affection and work on building positive memories.
Rebuilding a romantic relationship using Gottman’s method requires commitment, patience, and a willingness to work together toward a common goal.
When to approach counseling?
The restoration of trust in the relationship after a breach takes a lot of commitment, time and indispensable efforts towards the partner just to start a conversation around forgiveness.
Now, the question arises if all of these don’t work in your case because perhaps you and your partner are too overwhelmed to start a conversation about the betrayal, what shall you do? At this point, couples counseling is recommended. Couple counseling is effective when both partners are open to constructive communication. In couple counseling a counselor or a psychologist works as a neutral point of contact who can facilitate the recovery and bring the unsaid questions and answers to the surface of the communication. They work as a guide who can help the couple to decipher an action plan around communication, trust, compassion, and understanding in the relationship. They help the couple to make well-informed settlements about whether to fill the gaps in trust and move ahead together or apart. They further help in strengthening, understanding, and healing the couple, also as individuals.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
