Posts Tagged ‘marriage family counselors’

Marriage Counselor Can Solve Your Relationships Hurdles

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No one wants to admit they need help. The natural human aversion to failure is often so strong that many resist even admitting that the marriage isn’t going as they envisioned it. They endure bitterly silent breakfasts and stay at the pub an hour later just to avoid facing the facts and hoping that things will get better on their own. Or even worse, they will beat themselves up, saying, “I probably deserve this treatment.” Before the morale of your household degenerates further, consider visiting a marriage counselor as a guide through the emotional minefields.

You should endeavor to find a marriage counselor to help you avoid painful emotional outbursts. If you or your spouse spends any amount of time shouting at each other, crying or getting stuck in a constant cycle of derision and nagging, then counseling for marriage can help. Secondly, certified counselors provide added motivation to complete your plan to regain that romantic love again. Sometimes another person’s faith that your efforts will be successful is all you need to believe it yourself. While these may seem like things you might be able to do on your own, the third reason to seek counseling is to gain access to knowledge and strategies to help you achieve your goals. Over the years there have been many studies into human behavior, which can help us recognize our patterns of behavior and remedy the underlying causes of our feelings.

Exercise care when choosing a marriage counselor. Not all marriage therapists are licensed, certified, or specializes in couples counseling for marriage. Most states mandate that licensed therapists have a master’s or doctoral degree, graduated marriage training and have gained credentials from the Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, so ask about these things when calling around. You may be able to get recommendations from your health insurer, your physician, local clergy or friends. Before attending a session, you’ll want to find out the cost and what’s covered by health insurance, as well as the duration and frequency of the sessions. Find out how many sessions you’re expected to attend and what happens if you need to cancel or reschedule.

The outcome of visiting a marriage counselor depends very much upon your chemistry with the counselor, as well as your firm resolve to improve. Sometimes your partner may refuse to come with you. In that case, you may still benefit from learning more about your relationship, your feelings and your reactionary pattern of behavior. Sometimes it just takes one person to break the cycle of negativity in your home. Regardless of whose fault the initial controversies were, it often only takes one committed person to end the cycle of drama. Counseling for couples can cost anywhere from $45-$200 per hour, with an average cost of $100; however, when compared to the $1,500-$30,000 for a divorce, it’s chump change for years of bliss and better understanding.

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Filed under General : Comments (0) : May 6th, 2009

Making Use Of Family Counselors During Tough Times

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In the early 20th Century, psychologist Carl Jung posited that children will begin to live out the unconscious conflicts of their parents. When parents are locked into a dysfunctional relationship, children will begin acting out in school, feeling depressed or rebelling against their parents out of spite. Family counselors began to emerge to treat these problems stemming from a damaged family system.

In general, a family counselor is skilled in an area of psychotherapy that helps parents and children interact, communicate, resolve conflicts, deal with emotions, understand one another better and forgive. Family therapy from licensed counselors can benefit families with marital problems, divorce, eating disorders, depression, substance abuse, work-related stress, credit problems, violence, parenting disagreements, grief or chronic health problems. Typically, families will attend weekly one-hour sessions with a family marriage counselor for a period of three to five months. However, if physical abuse, substance abuse or divorce is a factor, then the duration may be extended.

Family counselors have one goal and one goal only, and that is to bring family members closer together. Throughout several consecutive sessions, a family marriage counselor will examine each member’s problem solving skills, emotional capacity, role within the family, behavioral patterns and communication styles to see how each person may be helping or hindering the dysfunctional family unit. By understanding each other’s motivations, strengths and weaknesses, family members can learn to diffuse anger and form more peaceful, meaningful relationships.

Family counselors focus on relationship building more than diagnosing individual disorders or illnesses. If one of the family members is a substance abuser or physical abuser, then he or she may be sent to abuse counselors as well. Or, if the couples are feuding bitterly following a separation, then they may require divorce assistance on top of group family therapy. Sitting down together to resolve differences may not solve everything, but it is certainly a positive step toward ending destructive patterns that threaten to weaken your familial bonds.

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Filed under General : Comments (0) : May 6th, 2009

Catholic Marriage Counseling Can Help Improve Your Relationships

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You can benefit from Catholic marriage counseling, whether you’re Catholic or not. Christian counselors are not aiming to convert the non-believers, but rather, they’re trying to defend the sanctity of marriage and strengthen the family environment. After all, strong, loving family units are mankind’s best defense against evil. Rather than pay $100-$200 per session with a licensed marriage therapy professional, why not see what God can do first?

One form of Catholic counseling happens before you even get married. Pre-marriage counseling is generally part of any Christian ceremony. Counseling for couples may be done in sessions, as a weekend retreat or as a group seminar. As with any other marital counseling, you’ll learn about conflict management, identifying wants or needs and strengthening communication skills. Often this opportunity is partially covered by insurance, with a small fee based on an income-sensitive sliding scale. The idea is that pitfalls can be prevented with a little bit of skill building and knowledge prior to tying the knot.

Marriage rebuilding is another type of Catholic marriage counseling that has gained popularity over the years. There are many reasons why couples fight, but one of the main reasons is money. Catholic charities may be able to assist a couple in acquiring food or getting help with their heating bills for a few months until they can get back on track with their finances. They can also preside over an open dialogue about spending habits, as well as short and long term goals. Other times couples may fight over child rearing, in which case pastoral counselors can remind us to return to God and raise our children with love and firm resolve.

There are pros and cons to choosing Catholic marriage counseling. On the plus side, you’ll be saving money, strengthening your marriage and learning to incorporate more spirituality into your life. On the downside, you’re often not being counseled by someone who has formal training in conflict management, communication, psychology or marital issues. The group seminars may not provide the type of personalized analysis you would like, so if you feel you’re in need of some solid solutions, then perhaps marriage therapists would be more your speed.

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Filed under Conflict : Comments (0) : Mar 22nd, 2009