Counseling

Has anyone here been through counseling to work through stepfamily issues? My husband and I have recurring arguments stemming from my lack of relationship with my teen stepson. I put in a lot of effort at first, it was never reciprocated, so I quietly took a step back for the sake of my own mental health. My SS is not an easy kid to connect with, and it is not just with me - most of the time he keeps to himself but when he does engage in conversation he has a negative attitude and is very pessimistic. My husband disagrees, thinks the issue is not with SS but is with everyone else. He’s literally the only person SS is close with. When my husband has brought up to my SS that he can talk to his stepmom too, or do activities with his stepmom, my SS says he isn’t interested and he’s also told my husband he’s fine with the (lack of) relationship we currently have.

I am hoping counseling can help my husband understand why I don’t have a relationship with my stepson and accept the situation for what it is. I just want the pressure taken off of me to put more work into building a connection with SS, and just focus on being able to coexist in the same home. My husband’s view is that I just need to try harder, not give up. Any advice?