If one’s marriage is in trouble it is important to seek professional help. Marriage counseling is one way of seeking outside help for your relationship. Marriage counseling is not for everyone. It is important before you and your partner seek marriage therapy that you consult with one another about what you hope to gain from the therapeutic relationship. Check in with one another and make sure that you are both committed to the experience and committed to seeing it through, prior to getting started. Once you have established a mutual commitment level you will want to ask yourselves a few questions.
Questions:
· Can you afford financially to see a Therapist
-Some Therapists take Insurance
-Some Therapists have a sliding fee scale
· Are both of you willing to participate in and attend counseling sessions
-Therapy will not work unless both parties are on board
-Dragging your partner to join you in therapy unwillingly is just not productive
· Determine what it is you both hope to accomplish through your therapy sessions
Other Things to Be Aware of in Your Marriage Before Seeking Marriage Therapy:
· Are either of you from a broken family
· Are you generally critical of one another
· Is there a great deal of defensiveness in your relationship
· Are you open to trying new ways of communication
· Are you open to doing exercises at home and will you be willing to discuss those marriage strengthening exercises with your Therapist in session
· Do you tend to withdraw or move towards one another
The effectiveness of marriage counseling greatly depends on the willingness and participation level of the couple. Generally, if a couple is seeking counseling they care about their relationship and wish to fix what is broken or at least attempt to understand their partner better. The longer a couple stays in a loveless marriage or a marriage consumed with conflict the more likely they are to divorce and the more likely that marriage therapy won’t prove to be effective.
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