What Happens After Couples Therapy in Singapore? Maintaining Progress Together

Couples therapy helps more than 70% of couples achieve long-term progress in their relationship.

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Did you know 70-75% of couples who try couples therapy say they experience significant improvement in their relationship afterwards? In fact, among couples who sought Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), the numbers are remarkably positive, with almost 90% experiencing improvements.

But you may be wondering, and rightly so, how do we maintain the progress made in couples therapy in Singapore?

Here’s the good news: Carrying the positive results of couples therapy into the long term is very much possible! And we’re here to take you through practical post-therapy advice and therapy follow-up tips that can help you with improving your relationship after counselling.

After Couples Therapy in Singapore: Improving Your Relationship After Counselling

Before we get into practical tips, it’s essential to address a key point: worrying about your relationship after couples therapy is entirely normal. It’s especially so when you’ve been through a period of struggle, be it emotional distance, conflicts, anger or something bigger. 

Doing the deep work of putting your relationship back together can be emotionally intense, and it’s only natural to be unsure about carrying on without the regular guidance of your therapist.

Remember to take it slow, give yourself and your partner time and compassion, and try not to expect things to go back to normal immediately. While couples therapy offers a safe space to understand and work through your issues, the effort you put in after therapy plays a vital role in sustaining progress.

Having said that, you always have the option to return to couples therapy or even schedule regular check-in sessions with your therapist. 

Particularly in the early days after couples therapy, it can be greatly helpful to see your therapist once a month or once every two months. More than anything, these sessions can act as an anchor and a much-needed reminder that support is always nearby.

Post-Therapy Advice: 5 Therapy Follow-Up Tips Every Couple Should Know

Research shows that the period post-couples therapy is a crucial transitional phase, in which couples can either multiply the progress made or fall back into old patterns. 

Below are five easy but valuable couples therapy follow-up tips that can help you continue to grow closer as a couple:

Tip 1: Set Shared Goals as a Couple

During your last few sessions of couples therapy, spend time setting couple goals for yourself post-therapy. If you do this with your therapist, they’ll be able to guide you through the process with a professional, unbiased approach. 

However, you can also choose to do this later as a couple by asking yourself the following questions:

• What issues did we bring to couples therapy, and how are they right now?
• How can we prevent these from happening again?
• Where do we see ourselves in another year or two?
• Which issues resolved in therapy are we most likely to fall back on?
• How can we ensure we don’t slip back into old patterns?
• Which skills learnt in therapy would we like to practise most?
• What amount and type of progress do we wish to achieve by another six months?

Setting shared goals can act like a checklist that helps you stay on track. It brings clarity and direction, making it easier to work towards the things that matter most to you. 

Tip 2: Schedule Regular Relationship Check-Ins

The second tip closely follows the previous one. So you’ve set your goals after couples therapy in Singapore. But how do you monitor and keep track of progress?

Here’s one way to do that: Regular relationship check-ins! 

Plan and block a specific time every week to sit together as a couple and discuss where you’re at. Can you maintain the results of couples therapy? Are you reaching the goals you set? Are you going in the direction and at the pace that you both wanted? Are you both feeling heard and loved in the relationship?

These check-ins serve as checkpoints, prompting you to slow down and review your journey. Try not to skip on them or skimp out on doing them with intention!

In addition to these check-ins, we also encourage you to schedule couples' time every day, every other day, or at least once a week. During this time, you may do whatever you both wish to. These can be movie nights, dinner dates, cooking together, slow dancing, or even spending time together in silence. All that matters is that you do it together.

Tip 3: Continue Using the Communication Tools You Learned

For most people, one of the biggest takeaways from couples therapy would be communication tools.

The tools and strategies that you learn in therapy are only as effective as how much you practise them. When you face a conflict or a stressful situation, mindfully recall the tools your therapist taught you and remind your partner as well. Together, try your best to regularly use techniques such as time-outs, ‘I’ statements, active listening, and expressing appreciation.

Try this

Maintain a therapy tips journal where you note down all the practical tools you learn during sessions. Even short and straightforward notes can be invaluable later on for quick review and real-life practice.

Tip 4: Know When to Book a Follow-Up Session

As we saw in the previous section, follow-up sessions with your couples therapist are always an option. On the one hand, we have such regular check-in sessions where you review progress. On the other hand, it can sometimes be important to schedule a follow-up session when things seem to be going off track.

Here are some red flags to be wary of. If you spot these signs, take some time to slow down and work through them as a couple or book a follow-up couples therapy session:

• You find yourself relapsing into old patterns
• You fight a lot and are unable to resolve conflicts calmly
• You sense lingering anger or resentment building
• You feel yourself growing apart again
• You’re unable to stick to your goals
• You’re not able to spend time with each other
• You’re not able to move past old issues

Tip 5: Keep Practising Self-Care as Individuals

It’s easy to forget your personal needs when working on mending your relationship. Remember to make time for yourself, honouring your need for personal space, time or enrichment. 

Self-care doesn’t just look like expensive skincare or nighttime routines. It’s often the tiny things that bring you joy.

Here are some things you can try alone:

• Cook a comfort meal
• Watch your favourite movie or series
• Visit a cosy cafe
• Spend time with a loved one (other than your partner)
• Reconnect with old hobbies
• Try new activities that you’ve been wanting to

Key Takeaways

Couples therapy in Singapore is a research-backed way to improve relationships. However, long-term results are also dependent on your efforts to maintain progress, such as:

• Setting shared couples goals post-therapy

• Practising tools and strategies learnt in therapy

• Communicating openly and honestly with each other

• Intentionally spending time together as a couple

• Scheduling regular check-ins to track progress

• Knowing when to reach out to your couples therapist again

If you and your partner are looking to start couples therapy in Singapore, our couples Therapists can help you on this journey. 💜

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) How can I ensure progress after relationship counselling in Singapore?

Couples counselling offers several benefits, but you may be wondering how to maintain progress afterwards. 

Make sure to set shared goals, schedule regular check-ins and apply the tools learnt in therapy. With consistent effort, you can deepen your bond as a couple!

2) What’s the number one post-therapy advice for couples after couples therapy in Singapore?

We recommend following all the tips discussed in this blog to ensure maximum results. However, if we had to choose one, it’d be Tip 3: Continue Using the Tools You Learnt.

Therapeutic tools and techniques are highly effective, particularly in managing relationship conflicts. Take everything you learn in therapy into your everyday life and continue practising it – that’s the secret!

3) Is marriage counselling in Singapore successful?

The success rate of relationship counselling in Singapore is as high as 75-90%. While therapy helps you get more than halfway there, it’s also important to continue to practise what you learnt in therapy in order to maintain progress over time.

When couples are actively involved in therapy, are honest, put in their best efforts, and continue to apply the learnings from therapy afterwards, marriage counselling in Singapore can be highly successful.

4) Improving our relationship after counselling seems to be very difficult. We made a lot of progress during couples therapy. But we’re not able to maintain it now. Is this a common struggle?

Improving relationships after couples therapy in Singapore is indeed a common struggle among couples.

One way to get back on track is to follow the tips mentioned in this blog can help you get back on track.

However, if you feel like you’re struggling a lot, you can consider scheduling a follow-up session with your couples therapist. Your therapist can help you pause, review what went wrong, and plan how to do it better next time.

5) What are some therapy follow-up tips for every couple to keep in mind after couples therapy in Singapore?

Here are the top five therapy follow-up tips for couples to practise after couples therapy in Singapore:

• Set shared couples goals post-therapy
• Schedule regular check-ins to track progress
• Practise tools and strategies learnt in therapy
• Schedule a follow-up session if things seem too difficult
• Practise self-care as individuals