Relationship problems cause immense anxiety and pain. They often lead to depression and even drug and alcohol abuse.

These problems can be extremely confusing. That is why it is urgent that you get help immediately-the sooner, the better-before your partner leaves for good.

When one person is on the verge of leaving the relationship, it can cause feelings of futility and hopelessness in both of you. However, surprisingly, partners in this situation usually do not search for the methods that are proven to make relationships work; instead they just argue and one of the partners makes numerous futile attempts and promises to get the other partner to come back.

Unfortunately, this just causes more frustration and heart-ache. You have already made too many mistakes; do not make any more!

Use the solution that has been proven to have the best chance of bringing you and your partner back together: Couples Counseling. Don't make a blunder that could ruin the rest of your life!

There is no time to waste; call a professional counselor now and start to mend your relationship before it is too late! Partners can have frustrations resulting from the presence of health or emotional problems in either person.

Parent-child conflicts can also create anger and ever-present tensions that sometimes seem never-ending. Problems with communicating and disciplining children are very common and can feed the raging frenzy of your relationship conflicts.

Divorce and the continual transitioning from one relationship to the next also create toxic forms of instability and insecurity that leads to relentless relationship dysfunctions. Because of this maze of complications, seek the help of a counseling or clinical psychologist first because, unlike ordinary counselors, they are trained to administer scientific assessments and tests which can quickly zero-in on the core psychological issues which might be lurking in the background and fueling your partners discontent.

Psychological testing is an important, but often neglected, part of the initial assessment of your relationship- the first stage of the counseling process itself. Through these tests, your therapist can evaluate the nature of your communication patterns, the presence or damage caused by any built-in biases or prejudices, the quality of your problem-solving skills and the amount of empathy that you and your partner display towards each other.

It is crucial to stay in counseling long enough to get a positive outcome. Quitting prematurely will only result in a waste of your time and money.

Plan on a minimum of 6 visits to get the job done. Couples counseling is affordable.

If you work for a larger business or corporation, you might even be able to obtain some free services from an Employee Assistance Program offered through your job. Check with your human resources department to see if that option is available to you.

Your relationship problems probably involve the presence of some mental health-oriented symptoms, such as anxiety and depression. If so, your health benefits plan will probably pay for some, if not all of the therapy required.

Use a psychologist who requires that you only provide the co-payment at each visit. You see, some of the therapists you contact may require that you pay the entire fee at each session, which means that you have to wait to be reimbursed later by your insurance company.

In todays medical marketplace, this is not standard practice; find a professional who requires you to only provide the co-pay at each session. Your counselor will then be paid the balance of the fee directly from the insurance company.

Regardless of the circumstances, most likely, you and your partner are directly causing the core problems in your relationship because of poor communication patterns, continuing arguments, intermittent estrangements or even sexual or money problems.

Since the relationship itself is fundamental, it goes without saying that it will be necessary for both of you to change your underlying communication patterns. A relationship counselor provides couples therapy to address communication issues as well as to assist you to improve your crucial problem-solving skills.

Often, multiple problems complicate things and need to be addressed, such as, possessiveness, poorly managed anger etc.

Goal-setting is the second stage of the counseling process. At this stage, both of you and your counselor specify the concrete behaviors and improvements which you believe are necessary to heal the relationship.

These can include increases in empathy and the use of effective problem-solving methods, increases in the demonstration of appreciation and the more frequent use of forgiveness.

The third stage of this life-changing process is Implementation, which is, putting what you have learned into action. This stage includes the creation of a fast and easy-to-use program which is designed to get you and your partner from where you are to where you WANT to be.

Several counseling techniques may be required, including problem-solving and empathy training, the therapeutic re-structuring of thinking processes and the actual practicing of important skills in the session itself. The therapist may even ask you to use diaries, logs, charts etc to practice the new communication skills in your everyday lives.

Psychologists who provide couples or family counseling often have received specialized training in relationship and marital therapy. When you contact a psychologist in order to get your partner back and save the relationship, be sure to ask about his/her training in marriage and couple therapy techniques.