Question:
Why should I do all of the work if my spouse is not committed enough to the relationship to come to a session?
This is a question I have heard many many times over the years. I understand your frustration of being the one that is making the time commitment to meet with a coach when your partner is telling you it not something they will engage in. First of all, it is important for you to look at your words “my spouse is not committed enough to the relationship”. Did your spouse tell the you he was not to committed enough to the relationship or did he say he didn’t want to meet with a stranger to talk about the relationship? Many partners see this lack of willingness to meet with a professional as a lack of love or concern for the longevity of the relationship but this usually is not the case. People have different comfort levels with strangers, with talking about their feelings and with openness to talk about their relationship. This does not in any way equal a lack of love or commitment towards you. You may not like his choice and it may hurt because it is not what you want at this time, but you still have the choice to do your work, learn new skills that will benefit you both, set goals for yourself to grow as a partner and person and see if that motivates your spouse to also do some work. I have seen change happen in a relationship with only one partner doing the work. They learn and grow themselves and it automatically changes up the dynamic in the relationship,
it gets them unstuck and talking about important issues again. Who knows, maybe with positive change and role modeling that it is not about blame or keeping score, it may create the security to allow your partner to want to take the leap himself.