There are several reasons a married couple may seek professional help in their relationship. Marriage counseling and couples counseling can be very beneficial, particularly when they notice something is not right in the marriage.
After you have decided to give counseling a shot, the next step is locating a counselor that specializes in marriage and/or couples counseling. You might have to see several counselors to find the right one. It’s important that each of the spouses feel comfortable, so continue trying until you find the right fit.
Whereas some spouses are at a higher risk for divorcing because of factors like marrying too young, having parents that divorced, or being in a lower income bracket, not one of these by themselves are signs they should go to counseling.
Seeking Professional Support:
Couples may seek help when they notice issues, finding benefits in marriage or couples counseling for relationship improvement.
Choosing Counseling:
After deciding on counseling, locating a suitable marriage or couples counselor becomes crucial, ensuring both spouses feel comfortable.
Risk Factors and Considerations:
Factors like marrying young or divorce risks may not singularly signal counseling need; consider aspects causing distress in the marriage.
Reflecting on Marriage Dynamics:
Reflect on aspects causing anguish or contention, answering questions about conflicts, communication, and emotional connection in the marriage.
Identifying Higher Risks:
Answering “yes” to certain questions signals a higher risk, necessitating effort to maintain a healthy relationship with possible assistance from a marriage counselor.
Reasons for Counseling:
Various stressors can strain marriages; considering counseling doesn’t imply imminent divorce but signifies commitment to enhance communication and connection.
Positive Approach to Counseling:
Contemplating marriage counseling shows willingness to work on the marriage, reinforcing communication, and growing closer to one’s spouse.
Reducing Divorce Risks:
Spouses with realistic expectations, effective communication, conflict resolution skills, and compatibility have a lower divorce risk.
Benefiting from Counseling:
Even strong couples can benefit from counseling during challenges, strengthening communication skills, and building a stronger connection.
Does Marriage Counseling Work?
The most studied and beneficial type of couples counseling is emotionally focused therapy – EFT – devised by Dr. Sue Johnson. Research has shown that this therapy is long-lasting and helpful with those of diverse ethnic backgrounds also.
One study conducted in 2017, for instance, examined at the productiveness of couples counseling with a group of veterans, with deviations in age and race, and discovered it to be generally beneficial, with relationships continually improved eighteen months following therapy. Another 2017study also discovered improvements lasting twenty-four months following therapy. A report published in 2015 discovered EFT beneficial in couples comping with infertility.
Typically, marriage and relationship researchers recommend that the objective of couples counseling should be to alter the routines of interaction, emotional connections, and communication among the partners.
Is Marriage Counseling Worth It?
Marriage counseling can be valuable for any couple that wants to discover ways to make their marriage better. It can be beneficial at different points in a marriage and can address a wide array of issues that might be present in a marriage.
Younger couples might benefit from counseling that aids them in establishing healthy communication and practices early on in their marriage. Studies have found that counseling before marriage could also help encourage couples to take steps to maintain their relationship in the long run.
Couples that want to put in work on changing themselves are also able to benefit. Counseling is more effective when each of the partners are ready and willing to examine their own shortcomings and are wanting to make change.
Couples that seek help sooner than later may achieve better results than those who put it off. Couples that get counseling prior to problems becoming serious may benefit a plenty from counseling.
Even those who have come to the point where they are thinking about divorce are still able benefit from marriage counseling.
Source:
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Stritof, S. (2021, October 17). Does marriage counseling work? Verywell Mind. Retrieved March 25, 2022, from https://www.verywellmind.com/does-marriage-counseling-work-2300428
