Couples Therapists Reveal The Dates They Wish More Couples Would Go On

Bringing this intentional energy to date night could make a huge difference.

Many couples think they’re doing everything right. They’re making time for each other – a quick catch-up over dinner, running errands on the weekend – but after many years together, scheduling date nights that aren’t just ordering takeout and staying in to watch a movie can become few and far between.

“The demands of daily life (work, children, maintaining a household, logistics, etc.) have a way of slowly pushing aside moments that build and sustain connection amongst couples,” Tara Gogolinski, a licensed marriage and family therapist, told HuffPost.

“Then, without either person meaning for it to happen, they start drifting towards feeling more like roommates than partners.”

According to therapists, the problem usually isn’t a lack of time together. It’s the kind of time they’re spending together.

As Laura Richer, a couples therapist and founder of Anchor Light Therapy in Seattle, put it: “Intimacy requires presence. It is not the same as proximity.”

She notes that many couples mistake being physically together for being emotionally connected. “In a world full of distractions we have confused being in the same room with our partner as being connected, and it is not the same.”

That’s why therapists often encourage couples to rethink what date night looks like altogether.

If you’re struggling to come up with new dates to enjoy with your partner, here’s a list of the types of dates couples therapists wish partners would go on.

Dates that introduce novelty and playfulness

The same date night feels stale because it is stale.

“Doing novel activities together is what fuels excitement and fun in new relationships, and as relationships go on, we tend to get into a routine of what dates look like,” Claire Perelman, a certified sex therapist and licensed clinical social worker, told HuffPost.

“Experiencing novelty together reinvigorates fun, playfulness, and bonding because we are able to appreciate our partner’s strengths in a new light.”

Perelman encourages couples to try........

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