When Mental Health Affects Relationships — Where To Find Free Relationship Counseling Online
Updated December 09, 2019
Introduction
Have you been having trouble in your romantic relationship and wondering where to find free relationship counseling, there are a few options available for you. In this article, we talk about free relationship counseling services, including where to find a free relationship hotline and where individuals and couples can get free relationship counseling online.
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Free Relationship Counseling Hotline
When you look for free relationship counseling services, the first place that most people start with Google. A quick Google search for free relationship counseling near me will return a variety of free relationship counseling services options, including the free relationship counseling hotline. When you call a relationship hotline, what you'll normally get is free relationship counseling over the phone with a trained listener or relationship expert.
For example, websites like 7 Cups of Tea provide free counseling sessions online with trained listeners. Other examples of free relationship counseling over the phone are relationship services hotlines like the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
People who call the domestic violence hotline gain access to information, resources, and support to help them overcome relationship challenges that involve domestic violence. Domestic violence is an unwanted physical or verbal attack that threatens a person's physical safety and well-being. While it is more likely for women to be victims of domestic abuse, domestic violence can happen to a woman, a man, and even children.
When you call the hotline, domestic violence advocates will listen to your situation and provide you with advice on how and where to get help. There is a limit to the amount of trauma-based counseling that domestic violence advocates can provide. This is especially true where domestic violence has caused lasting mental trauma that requires ongoing treatment. Most free counseling hotlines will refer you for more intensive therapeutic counseling with a licensed provider.
Free Relationship Counseling Online
When you search for free relationship counseling online, you're presented with a variety of options, including self-help options like web articles and blogs that can provide you with some guidance and direction on how to deal with common relationship challenges. Free relationship counseling on free websites and getting free relationship counseling over the phone isn't a substitute for therapeutic counseling. This is especially true in the case of relationships that are complicated by issues of domestic violence, mental health disorders, or other challenging family concerns.
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To deal with the more serious issues that involve physical or mental trauma, you may need to go beyond the results that a free relationship counseling near me search result can provide. If you're physically or emotionally scarred because of issues in your intimate relationship, you need to get help with a licensed professional.
Free Consultations With Licensed Therapists
Once you've decided to take the next step to heal your life and your relationship, the next step is to decide how you're going to get help. Many people think they can't afford traditional therapy sessions, and sometimes that may be true as the national average cost of therapy ranges between $65.00 - $200.00 an hour. Most people can't afford to pay these kinds of fees and bypass getting help altogether because of the cost.
The happy medium between expensive in-office therapy sessions and free options (that cannot provide licensed therapeutic services) is low-cost, sliding-fee, and affordable subscription-based counseling options. Therapist matching services like mytherapist.com can help you find a licensed professional therapist in your area that can provide you with a free consultation for services.
During your free consultation, you learn what kind of treatment plan your licensed therapist will recommend how many sessions they recommend, their preferred method of therapy, and costs. Subscription-based services that provide access to thousands of licensed mental health professionals offer affordable therapy options that start as low as $40 - $70.00 per week.
Online Relationship Counseling Services
Getting started with online relationship counseling is easy. To get started, choose a leading therapy provider like BetterHelp that offers access to mental health professionals that include psychologists, licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFT), licensed professional counselors (LPC/LPCC), and licensed clinical social workers (LCSW). These mental health professionals are educated, high-trained, and board-certified within their state of practice.
What this means for you and your intimate partner is that when you choose online relationship counseling services with sites like BetterHelp you're connected with a world of virtual online therapists that can work in tandem with offline providers in your state to provide you with a total relationship and mental health care solution.
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When Mental Health Affects Relationships
With over 43 million Americans suffering from the effects of mental health today, there is no surprise when mental health challenges affect relationships. People who have mental illness and mental health disorders have trouble maintaining romantic relationships. This is especially true when the symptoms of mental health are present - and left untreated.
Mental illness for the mind is the equivalent of physical illness for the body. Expecting someone to function at top capacity when they aren't able to isn't realistic. People who suffer from mental health disorders have challenges in the areas of communication and attachment that are usually directly linked to mental health issues.
For example, a survivor of childhood trauma may develop trust issues that affect their romantic relationships later in life. If their partner isn't aware of this underlying connection, they may erroneously assume that their partner is disinterested in the relationship or "doesn't want to make it work." In this case, what's happening is that the person who experienced childhood trauma - never learned coping skills to get past the trauma, so they operate from a child-like level of functioning as an adult. Mental illness isn't a choice. It's a diagnosis.
Relationship Counseling Benefits for Couples
When you take part in relationship counseling with professional therapists, you uncover your hidden patterns and unhealed wounds that have been contributing to the outcomes in your intimate relationships. As you continue to attend therapy, you learn new coping skills for healing old wounds and new communication skills for having more productive conversations with your partner.
They can hold online relationship counseling sessions with either individual or both partners in the couple's therapy. Couples often find it beneficial to learn what makes their partner tick and can find a renewed sense of the relationship by developing a deeper understanding of their partner through therapy.
Relationship Counseling Benefits for Individuals
You learn to understand yourself better - what motivates you, what drives you, why you do that weird thing you do. Having a better understanding of yourself paves the way for you to create better outcomes in your life. Learning who you help you to design the circumstances of your life to reflect the things that you want. In the past, you have been designing your life based on the things you fear.
Taking part in therapy provides you with incredible insights that help you take control of your life. You learn how to look at yourself and life from a new perspective and realize that you're not alone. You're one of the millions of Americans who struggle with similar issues, and you can still have a normal functioning life. Counseling helps you to restore your sense of self and heal your damaged self-confidence so you can learn to feel whole.
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Getting Started With Couples Therapy Online
If you and your partner are ready to build a deeper relationship, or if you're preparing to have the best relationship of your life, you're ready to get started with couples therapy online. Choose an online couple's therapy provider like BetterHelp.com or RegainUS, who specialize in providing online couples therapy. Once you've chosen your therapy platform, take the next steps to register for a therapy account.
Many people aren't aware that you have the option to register anonymously to take part in therapy online. This is one of the benefits of taking part in confidential therapy online. While remaining anonymous is not the recommended option, it may be necessary in cases of domestic violence, celebrity, or other situations that would warrant remaining anonymous. Either way, the choice is yours.
The last step after registering for your account is to participate in therapy. You'll have an initial consultation with your selected therapist that will lay the groundwork for your therapy sessions. From there, you and your therapist will agree on a treatment philosophy that fits best with your lifestyle. Once you decide what days you'd like to attend therapy and whether you'll be using SMS messaging, audio messaging, or video to conduct your sessions - you're all set!
Congratulations! You've learned some important information about yourself, your partner, and your relationships. Now that you know what could be driving the troubles in your relationship - are you still looking for a free online therapist? Or have you decided to take yourself and your relationship more seriously and invest in online relationship counseling with a licensed therapy provider? Choose the route that you feel is the best option for you.
If you're ready to get started with a board-certified relationship therapist online today, contact BetterHelp.com.
