Improve Your Relationship With Weekly Marriage Meetings
March 4, 2023
One thing you’ll learn from couples therapy is “accountability”. Meaning your therapist holds both you and your partner accountable for participating and doing the necessary work to restore your relationship. But that work doesn’t stop once therapy is over.
Even when couples graduate from therapy, they must stay accountable for the relationship. You can easily do this by having weekly marriage meetings, where you and your partner discuss your feelings openly without judgment to prevent resentments from creeping back up.
What are Weekly Marriage Meetings?
Weekly marriage meetings are when you and your partner schedule regular discussions to align the priorities in your lives and weekly relationship check-in questions, including finances, chores, and weekly calendars.
There are three primary goals of weekly marriage meetings:
- To increase awareness
- To bring more peace and harmony into your relationship
To build deeper connection, communication, and understanding
What to do During Weekly Marriage Meetings
All relationships are unique, so what works for some may not work for others. Therefore, be creative where necessary and adjust the following weekly marriage meeting guidelines when required:
- Attendance is mandatory: This is non-negotiable. Consistency is crucial to enhancing your relationship and making the weekly marriage meetings work. Eventually, you both should look forward to having this emotionally intimate time together.
- Physically connect with your partner: Hold hands, look into each other’s eyes, ask each other how you’re feeling, and thank one another for committing to the meeting. These small gestures let your partner know you’re participating in big ways. Be emotionally and physically present at all times.
- Discuss the positive first: Begin your session by discussing all the positive things that have happened since your previous meeting. Then, when transitioning to challenging areas, share feelings as well as tasks.
- Choose a comfortable environment for both of you: Create a safe space to meet with your partner where you both feel equal. Peaceful settings like an outdoor patio, the coziest space in the house, or even somewhere meaningful to the both of you away from home work best.
- Encourage full participation: Always keep the basic rules of communication in mind: the listener listens while the speaker speaks without being accusatory or defensive.
Partner With a Licensed Couples Therapist in Calgary to Improve Your Relationship
If you and your spouse have work to do before you can even think about having amicable weekly marriage meetings, speaking with a licensed couples therapist can help you get there.
Get in touch with your Calgary local relationship counsellor
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