Both doctors agree that needing a third-party to help with communication shouldn't be stigmatized. "People think that there has to be a crisis to seek out mental help services," Dr. Steinberg says. "They also tend to be in denial about how big their issues have become to them." He adds that couples often feel that they should innately be able to figure out problems on their own — especially if there are two of them working on it. "But sometimes, something isn't working, and a couple can't quite figure it out, and emotions are heightened," Dr. Cooper says. So it can be beneficial to get a couple's counselor in there to assist. Not only will it help partners work through any immediate problems, but it gives them the tools to help when issues crop up in the future — it's almost like an open-notes test, but with your relationship. And who wouldn't want that?