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The world has changed, and how we work, live, and our relationships have changed with it. Misunderstandings build up into resentment, intimacy may fade over time, and external stresses can create unwanted distance between partners. It’s easy to feel stuck, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Couples therapy offers a safe space to slow down, be heard, and reconnect. With the guidance of skilled therapists, you and your partner can rediscover empathy, strengthen communication, and rebuild your relationship with renewed trust and closeness. 

What is Couples Coaching/Therapy?

Couples therapy, also called marriage counseling, is a type of psychotherapy designed to help romantic partners resolve conflicts and deepen their connection. A couple coach or therapist is a relationship expert who guides both people together to understand themselves and the relationship dynamics, from a place of compassion and tolerance rather than from unconscious, unhelpful interaction patterns. Unlike individual therapy, these sessions involve both partners learning positive psychological tools that will allow better engagement ways, such as active listening, resolving unprocessed childhood traumas, learning effective communication, and practicing and understanding truthful empathy.

How It Works

In sessions, the therapist helps partners talk about their issues without attacking each other. The therapist often sets ground rules, like no interrupting, and asks each partner to actively listen when the other speaks. Over time, this helps the couple break out of negative cycles of arguing and understand each other’s needs.

Imago Relationship Therapy

It is one of the best and respected approaches in the Psychotherapy Community. Imago couple therapy is one of its kind. It is a method that sees conflict as an opportunity for growth and evolution, not only as a couple but as human beings. Imago couple therapy teaches structured dialogue, where each partner alternately speaks, mirrors what they heard, and empathizes with the other’s feelings. The couple coach/therapist holds this process in a manner that the couple will get all the benefits from it. It helps couples to stop blaming one another, communicate more compassionately, and reconnect by addressing unconscious childhood patterns that influence their relationship.

Online Couples Therapy

Couples don’t have to meet only in person to get help. At Positive Living UAE, we also support couples therapy online, giving more options to couples abroad or who can’t commute. Our Online Couple therapy sessions take place via video call, which allows couples to work with therapists from the comfort of their home. Importantly, research shows online couples therapy is just as effective as face-to-face couple therapy. This allows busy partners in Dubai or elsewhere to access expert help.

Why is Couples Therapy Important to All Couples

Improved Communication and Conflict Resolution

Open, honest communication forms the base of any healthy relationship, and is not limited to couples but particularly to romantic relationships because they are intimate. Positive Living’s Couples therapy teaches skills like active listening, resolving childhood traumas, and clear, fair communication, as well as positive psychological communications techniques. Learning these skills reduces misunderstandings and arguments. Research shows that couples who learn better communication skills and conflict-resolution skills in therapy have a much lower risk of divorce.

Deeper Emotional Connection

Therapy helps partners rebuild trust and intimacy. A counselor can guide couples through difficult topics of infidelity or emotional distance in a way that preserves respect. Over time, these sessions often rebuild affection and understanding. Happy couples report higher life satisfaction, and studies back it up. Psychological research in couples’ dynamics has proven that being in an unhappy marriage increases your risk of illness by 35% and can shorten life expectancy by 4–8 years, whereas satisfied couples tend to live longer, healthier lives.

Mental and Physical Health

Relationship distress doesn’t just hurt emotions, as it can also have a severe impact on one’s health. Partners in troubled relationships are significantly more likely to suffer anxiety, depression, or other health problems. By contrast, couples therapy can reduce this stress. Strengthening the partnership often cuts down emotional strain and even physical symptoms. In the UAE context, family guidance can be an integral part of building stable families, with relationship support contributing to overall well-being.

Preventative Care

One common misconception is that couples therapy is just a remedy, when in reality, it can also be a preventative and part of personal growth for any individual; it could act like a check-up for your relationship. Seeing a counselor before problems become serious can keep small issues from growing. Couples can use therapy when things are going well to build skills and plan for future changes, such as planning for parenthood or navigating work stress together. Online or face-to-face Couple Therapy can address a wide range of relationship issues at any stage, whether you are happily together or just want to keep your bond getting stronger.

What Couples Therapy Can Help With

Couples therapy can address nearly any challenge a partnership faces. Common issues include communication problems, trust and betrayal, conflict management, and emotional intimacy. A skilled therapist will work with you to identify and solve these problems. Therapy can help partners rebuild trust after broken promises, learn to discuss parenting or values differences, and improve sexual intimacy. 

Communication Breakdowns

When partners struggle to talk without fighting or feel misunderstood, therapy teaches them to express themselves clearly. A coach/therapist might teach the couple to pause during heated moments and reflect on feelings, or practice dialogue exercises that help improve understanding.

Frequent Conflict

If you find yourselves arguing about the same issues over and over, therapy can help break that cycle. Couples therapists guide partners to see the root causes of recurring fights and to negotiate compromises. They also teach constructive conflict techniques, so disagreements don’t spiral into fights.

Trust and Infidelity

If trust has been shattered due to one reason or another, couples therapy provides a place to carefully rebuild it. The therapist helps the partner share feelings, and the other partner understand the pain they caused. Together, they create a plan to restore honesty and safety in the relationship.

Intimacy and Emotional Distance

It is common for partners to lose the spark that once bonded them. Couple therapy can revive emotional and physical intimacy by encouraging partners to reconnect on a deeper level. A couple therapist might have the couple spend time each week sharing positive experiences or working on shared activities to rebuild closeness.

Life Transitions

Major life events like marriage, childbirth, relocation, career shifts, and cultural adjustment often put stress on relationships. Couples therapy can help you take on these transitions as a team. A counselor can help couples set shared expectations and manage life’s transitions, from the stress of becoming new parents to adapting to Dubai’s diverse cultural environment.

Signs to Seek Couples Therapy

• Lack of intimacy: A decline in physical or emotional closeness often points to deeper disconnects that benefit from guided attention.

• Recurring unresolved arguments: Ongoing fights about money, chores, or in-laws without resolution signal stuck patterns that therapy can help identify and shift.

• Emotional distance or loneliness: Feeling unseen, unheard, or more like roommates than partners highlights the need to rebuild emotional safety and connection through therapy.

• Avoiding important conversations: Dodging talks about children, finances, sex, or the future allows issues to pile up; therapy creates a safe space to address them.

• Betrayal or secrecy: Infidelity, hidden accounts, or ongoing secrecy break trust, and rebuilding trust often requires structured support and clear repair steps. 

• Escalating anger or fear in fights: Arguments that become overwhelming, intimidating, or frightening are signals to seek help early, learn de-escalation, and establish healthy boundaries.

• Considering separation or staying for convenience: If leaving feels like an option or staying feels like an obligation, therapy can clarify feelings and guide next steps with care.

• Persistent resentment or contempt: Negative patterns erode connection over time; therapy teaches healthier ways to communicate and interrupt corrosive cycles.

• Unresolved parenting or household conflict: Constant disagreements over discipline, roles, or routines create strain. A therapist helps you form a consistent plan and a united approach.

• Overwhelmed by major life transitions: Moving abroad, job loss, illness, or becoming parents can overwhelm couples; therapy supports alignment and coping as a team.

• Individual mental health, addiction, or trauma issues: When personal struggles spill into the relationship, couples therapy (often alongside individual care) helps protect both partners and strengthen the bond.

• Cultural or family pressure creating conflict: Strong family or cultural expectations can strain relationships; a culturally sensitive therapist can help you get through these with understanding.

Choosing the Right Therapist for Couples

When deciding on therapists for couples, certain factors can make a big difference:

Mode of Therapy

Decide between in-person vs. online sessions. In Dubai and the UAE, many clinics offer on-site counseling, but online couples therapy is an excellent option too. Virtual sessions can fit busy schedules and let you choose from a wider pool of therapists. Importantly, studies show online therapy works: couples built a strong rapport with therapists via video and reported higher relationship happiness. So if convenience or privacy is a concern, online options can be ideal.

Practicalities

Check logistics like availability, cost, and format. Couples therapy usually requires a commitment in the form of weekly or biweekly sessions. Make sure the therapist’s fees, working hours, and cancellation policy fit your needs. Also, confidentiality is key, so make sure the therapist keeps your sessions private.

In the end, the right therapist for couples will be someone both partners feel comfortable with, who has proven training, and whose approach matches your relationship goals.

How We Can Help

Positive Living UAE offers specialised couples therapy in Dubai, including Imago couple therapy led by certified practitioners who combine Imago tools with culturally sensitive care to help you reconnect and heal. 

If you prefer remote support, we offer an online program and other ways to heal your relationship. Imago coaching/therapy online or face-to-face is are options we offer, making it easy for busy couples or expats to work with an experienced couple coach/ therapist from anywhere. 

Our team includes trained relationship experts, coaches, and therapists for couples who emphasise practical communication skills, trust-repair, and strategies that respect local cultural and family contexts.

Book a confidential consultation with us and take the first step towards rediscovering your spark.