What beats being in love? And what makes you feel worse than being in combat with your lover? No one knows how to push your buttons better than the one person you have trusted with your story - your fears, wishes and hopes. Your closest friend can be your deadliest opponent, sometimes by withdrawing their affection, validation, or connection.

What makes couples counseling such a frightening thing that we delay it until the last possible moment? What we will think when we talk about relationship counseling?

We receive many calls for counseling assistance that are the direct result of a recent partner "meltdown". And two sorts of calls are very common. The most common is from a desperate partner who wants to save the relationship. This person, most often the female partner, wants outside help to mediate the couple problems. She is ready to make an appointment, but often states "I have to talk to my husband/boyfriend first." About 75 percents call back.

The first call comes when the relationship is still in early stage. The couple often find the counseling is a positive, successful, and sometimes even enjoyable experience. They find that many other couples are having the similar problems, and that solutions are readily available. In many cases, they rediscover respect and friendship, and reawaken the romance and intimacy of their early times together.

The second common call is from the other partner, and usually several years later in relationship. "I want to set up a counseling appointment immediately, today if possible. My wife/girlfriend and I just separated after a big fight. She says she is done with the relationship."

The second call can also sometimes result in a positive outcome, but the trail is much more difficult. Counseling begins after one partner already feels hopeless, defeated and ready to leave. Both partners have inflicted and received a great deal of emotional damage. Couples are generally polarized on major issues, and may have aligned children, family members and friends into opposing camps. In this situation it is much more difficult for the couple to rebuild the trust, respect, warmth, friendship and intimacy that they desire.

Sometimes the gender roles are reversed, but the essence of the calls is the same. Here are some reasons couples are not willing to go for couples counseling:

"It would be embarrassing to talk about the things I might have done wrong, and to have my partner attacking me in front of a third party."

"I don't want to be seen as the bad guy. I can't speak as eloquently, or forcefully as my partner, and I'll just get raked over the coals."

"We've had these arguments a hundred times and it never goes anywhere. I donot want to pay money to go through these painful arguments again!"

"My spouse will never change. Why should I worry? Everything I tried is useless."

"Maybe the problems will just go away."

With these expectations, nobody would want to try counseling. I'll offer a different perspective of what couples counseling might be like, based on my real life experience.

Your counselor can also help you explore the difficulties in your relationship. They can understand each of your positions, without taking sides, and help you find the unmet needs, and the fears and resentments that sabotage your relationship. They can help you understand and observe the negative, repetitive cycles that cause you both so much pain. And a good counselor can help you change that negative pattern both in the session as it is occurring and at home.

You should expect to meet with somebody who is curious and genuinely interested in both of you as individuals. An experienced counselor will help you answer the questions, such as what attracted you to each other in the first place? And what has kept you together even through your difficulties? How have you managed to overcome conflicts and problems in the past?

Generally, couples counseling is not an easy process. It can be exhausting and frightening to challenge your known, and painful, ways of being with each other. It takes courage to identify how you each have contributed to problems, and it requires effort and integrity to recommit to a more healthy and loving relationship. And the reward for this courage and commitment will be growth, and a blossoming of the respect, friendship, humor, and love that brought you together initially.