Courteney Cox Talks Therapy

Friends will be there for Courteney Cox--so long as they can pass off her problems to a more capable professional.

The former Friends star has come clean about visiting a therapist with hubby David Arquette, telling Life magazine that a recent bout of couples head-shrinking helped the duo through a marital rough patch.

"We were just in Sardinia for a vacation. Sure, it was wine central, so we were having a couple of glasses of wine, and we got into these fights two nights in a row over stupid stuff," she told the weekend magazine. "But I could see how relationships break up if you don't go, 'What are we doing?!' So we went to a therapist and he broke it down for us.

"He said, 'Courteney, can you see how David gets embarrassed to have any kind of public fight?' I don't scream, but I have no problem saying what I'm feeling in the moment. David's the opposite. So if I need to get something out, I have to say, 'David, can you come talk to me for a minute outside?' Had I done that, [the fights] wouldn't have gotten nearly as big."

As for why the 41-year-old actress and her husband of seven years decided now was the time to page Dr. Freud--chalk it up to a friendly suggestion.

"My friend Laura Dern sat me down and said, 'Okay, this is going to be a big year for you; here's a list of things you need to do.' One of them was to write down all the things I liked about myself. She saw that I was being too frenetic--that I wasn't enjoying life as I should.

"Then she said, 'I want you to see my therapist.' I'm a great caretaker. But one thing I'm not good at is taking care of myself. My goal for this part of my life...is to be more nurturing to myself."

Part of which, Cox tells Life, includes getting better at "not trying to fix everything or judge it, just simply notice." Like the dilemma of aging in Hollywood, which Cox says, despite her seemingly graceful ascension up the chronological ladder, isn't as glamorous as it seems.

"Whoever said aging wasn't for sissies was right," she said. "People who read a magazine can look at the picture and go, 'She looks great for over 40!' But guess what? That's not what I look like. Lighting is everything. When you're in your car and you look in the mirror and the sun's beaming in, you're like, 'Wow, times are getting tough.'"

Still, she says that even on her worst days, "I'm not someone who stays in bed and hides under the pillows."

Though if she did, her two-year-old daughter, Coco, would be under there with her.

"I treat Coco like she's one of the gang," the mama told the magazine. "If I go to New York, she goes to New York. I don't care if it's for one day. I've never been apart from her."

As for the rumors of Coco getting a permanent playmate, Cox said it would likely happen soon--but not that soon.

"We're not trying yet. We're revving up the engines. I'm only ready 'cause time's a-ticking. If I was 34, I'd wait another year, because I like those three-to-four-year gaps. I want Coco to be helping me with the next one. One child is hard. Two is probably harder."

Particularly for a working mother.

Cox is set star in the upcoming FX comedy Dirt, playing the editor of a tabloid magazine (guess she wants to see things from the dark side). She and Arquette will also serve as coproducers on the series.

"The idea came up when I was pregnant and was being completely hounded by the press. Their fascination with pregnancy and children is so huge," she said.

As is their fascination with a certain other former Friend.

"[I know] Jennifer or Brad is on the cover of every magazine. But to me it is so beyond ridiculous. I don't even think about it.

"I don't know what they're printing now, but she has a great life."

As, it seems, does Cox, who currently stars in the fam-friendly sci-fi flick Zoom, in theaters today.