Couple/Partner Counseling
Problems with relationships can lead to stress and disruption in students' lives. It is often most effective to have both partners in the room working together with a counselor. Couples counseling provides a comfortable, private, and non-judgmental setting for partners to examine and improve their relationship.
Brief, intermittent couples work at C&CS includes:
- identifying healthy and unhealthy relationship patterns
- improved partner communication
- problem solving or decision-making
- managing relationship changes: a long distance relationship, pregnancy, breach of trust
- negotiating lifestyles and intimacy concerns
- understanding, valuing and respecting personal differences
UHS has counselors experienced working with dating, married, separated, divorced, and LGBTQ couples. Only one partner is required to be a currently registered student at UW-Madison. Each couples session is counted toward the 10 session counseling limits of each partner.
Partners interested in counseling should drop in for an access consultation at the same time. No appointment is needed. Partners will be seen individually for this first meeting, but coming in together (and knowing your mutual availability) is needed for ease in scheduling the first couples consultation appointment.
If one or both partners have both personal and relationship issues, it may be recommended that an individual counseling consultation occur first. Non-student (non-SHIP) partners who cannot be seen for individual counseling at UHS will be provided with campus and community referral sources if needed.
If you and your partner are in need of longer-term or specialized couples work, or evening hours, C&CS staff can help provide referral options.
For self-help suggestions on relationships, check out Go Ask Alice.
Partner not available to come to counseling? Consider exploring your relationship skills through an interpersonal process group.
