How Couples Counseling Can Help You Walk Away from a Narcissist Spouse

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Counseling is an excellent option for those who have been in abusive relationships. It can help as you transition from the relationship into divorce or single parenting mode. 

Abusive relationships can leave a person emotionally scarred and disturbed. The intensity of the damage may be even higher if the relationship involves narcissism and physical abuse.  

EMDR therapy, CBT, and other couples counseling techniques can help patients identify and address their problems effectively.

Learning to Manage Conflict

Professional psychologists and other experts can help you navigate your emotions and heal faster. Couples counseling isn’t just about working through emotional issues; counseling has practical benefits as well. From learning how to manage conflict to co-parenting with estranged narcissistic partners, counseling offers a variety of solutions. 

Helps Differentiate Abusive Behavior from Healthy Behavior

In counseling, you have the opportunity to learn about narcissist behavior and what it means to be in an abusive relationship. It would help if you also learned how to communicate more effectively and have your needs met. That’s not possible when dealing with a narcissistic spouse.

Lower Stress Levels

Counseling can also help you lower your level of stress in divorce or separation. Stress is one of the most significant problems that people face when dealing with narcissistic abuse. 

It’s also a significant factor in health care costs and lost productivity in society. Stress-related health issues cost our economy over $300 billion every year.

Narcissistic abuse is, unfortunately, a common cause of stress in relationships (and society). It’s essential to learn how to manage your stress levels when dealing with such people.

Helps Learn Coping Skills

Counseling and techniques like EMDR therapy can help you develop the coping skills you’ll need to deal with life after divorce or separation from a narcissistic spouse. That’s especially true if counseling is part of a broader counseling program.

Minimize Childhood Trauma

Counseling can also help deal with the children of narcissistic parents. Many children become traumatized during their upbringing. Sometimes, counseling is needed to help them heal from traumatic experiences and form healthy relationships.

Don’t wait until your divorce or separation is final (or even legally filed) before you consider counseling. It can be helpful at any point in an abusive relationship, including the beginning. 

Smoother Transitioning

Counseling is a great way to transition from living with a narcissistic spouse into a single parent. Because narcissists don’t handle loss well, counseling can help you bounce back from such a relationship.

Narcissists like to make an effort for their partners and gradually gain control over them. It may be challenging to identify the initial signs of narcissistic abuse since they use complex manipulation techniques. 

Additionally, the victim may fall into “trauma bonding” loops and other traps if the abuse is severe. An expert psychologist can help you identify typical narcissist behavior and educate you on the same.

Dealing With the Narcissist

A narcissist may seek counseling only when their partner shows a strong desire to leave, so counseling may help them prevent a breakup. Counseling may also be a good option for those who have been in unhealthy relationships. Unhealthy relationships aren’t necessarily abusive, but they do need to end too. 

You don’t want to wait until you’re married or are living together before you seek counseling. Therapy or counseling can also be beneficial for anyone. Studies show that even short-term narcissistic relationships and friendships can cause severe psychological damage to the victim.

Children who grew up in a narcissistic family are often traumatized by the experience. They may need counseling to help them figure out how to have healthy relationships when they get older. Counseling will help you understand what actually happened to you from an objective perspective and teach you how to deal with it efficiently.

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