Couples Counseling vs. Individual Therapy—What’s Right for You?

Exploring the choices between couples counseling and individual therapy: Discover what suits your needs at Connection Couples Counseling.

So things feel off. Or stuck. Or heavy. 

You want support, but you’re not sure if it’s a you thing, a your partner thing, or a couples thing.

Here’s some guidance to help you determine if you need couples counseling or individual counseling:

Couples Therapy: When the Relationship Is the Focus

This is your go-to when you’re navigating issues between you and your partner. Whether it’s communication, emotional distance, or a recurring pattern, couples therapy is about how you work together.

Some signs that couples counseling might be the way to go: 

• You’re fighting more, or not talking at all.  Either of these extremes could mean it’s time for couples counseling

• You’re growing apart and want to feel close again 

• There’s been a betrayal of some kind (cheating, gambling, financial, etc)

• You’re facing a big relationship/family transition and you know it could impact the dynamic with your partner in some way

• You both want change but feel stuck in how to make it happen

  
  

A couples therapist holds space for both partners, helps translate misunderstandings, and supports you in creating new patterns together.

Individual Therapy: When You Need to Work on You

Sometimes the struggles in a relationship come from personal pain like anxiety, past trauma, self-esteem issues, or emotional triggers that bleed into your partnership. Individual therapy is about getting to know yourself, healing past wounds, and learning to show up with more clarity and calmness.

Individual therapy might be your path if: 

• You feel overwhelmed or reactive in the relationship and outside of the relationship.  This kind of overwhelm comes up for you in other relationships and situations

• You know your patterns have been disrupting your life for awhile, want to explore your past to change your lifelong patterns

• You’re unsure whether you want to stay in the relationship 

• You need a space to sort out your feelings before sharing them with your partner

• Individual counseling can also be a good idea if you want to do counseling, but your partner isn’t willing. 

Can You Do Both?

Yes and many people do. Some start solo and later invite their partner in or vice versa. Others do both at the same time (with different therapists). Therapy isn’t one-size-fits-all. ANY step is better than no step, and you can always consult with a counselor to ask some questions if you’re unsure what the right path for you is.

If you want to learn more about how WE do couples counseling, check out our Couples Counseling page here. 

Connection Couples Counseling provides marriage, family, and co-parenting counseling to couples in Wyomissing, PA. We see couples virtually across the state of Pennsylvania.