“Swiping right” is easy enough, but finding a healthy, fulfilling, happy, long-lasting relationship – not so much! The fact is, humans are complex and emotional creatures…and dating can be hard! In a murky “sea full of fish”, the pickins can seem not so “plenty” and it can be hard to know which direction to swim. In some cases, social and family pressure only add to the stress associated with finding a good “match”. For some people, therapy is a good start and can lead to the kind of self-growth and positive change that might be necessary to build (or rebuild) a foundation for a healthy relationship.

Below is a list of 5 ways therapy can help you find the right person and develop a healthy and fulfilling relationship.

1. Therapy can help you deal with heartbreak.
Far too often, we find ourselves moving on to new relationships before fully healing from relationships from the past. While this can provide some temporary emotional relief from the pain associated with heartbreak, it means moving on before one has fully let go of – or worked through – emotional “baggage” from the past.

2. Therapy can help you identify unhealthy patterns from the past.
When you reflect on past relationships what kind of patterns do you see? It’s common for people to find themselves attracted to the same sort of person – time and time again – even when “time and time again” that “sort of person” ends up being incapable of providing the kind of love they desire and deserve. Therapy can help you understand why you’re attracted to the kind of people you are attracted to, and narrow down the kind of partner traits that will lead to the healthiest and most fulfilling kind of relationships.

3. Therapy can provide effective and helpful strategies for meeting and interacting with new people.
It’s a frustrating feeling to be surrounded by so many people (whether it be work, social situations, the coffee shop, or grocery store) and to find it so difficult to make meaningful connections. Therapy can help you explore new ways of meeting and connecting with people, and can serve as platform for learning new ways to interact with others.

4. Therapy can help you to explore difficulty with trust and “letting others in”.
It’s not uncommon for people to develop “walls” around themselves as a way of protecting themselves from future heartbreak and pain. Unfortunately, these walls don’t come down easily and often make it hard for people to get close enough to develop a meaningful relationship. This results in pushing others away and ultimately sabotaging any chance there may have been for love.

5. Therapy can help you be the best version of you!
An intimate relationship should come only after finding confidence, security, independence, and fulfillment while single! Although the benefits of a healthy relationship are numerous, feeling a need to depend on validation and affection from others to feel joy in life, should be a “red flag”. Therapy can help you work on YOU so that when the timing (and person) is right, you are able to be the best version of you!

Joel Schmidt, MA, Licensed Mental Health Counselor

Call Float on Counseling, LLC (A Tampa Bay Counseling Company) for a free phone consultation at 727-258-5231.