Does marriage counseling work? The answer largely depends on a number of factors, including your willingness to change and the depth of your marital problems. While marriage counseling may work wonders for one couple, it doesn’t work for everyone. To help you answer the question “Does marriage counseling work?”, you need to take into consideration the following factors:
1. Marriage Counseling generally takes less time than individual counseling
If you are wondering “does marriage counseling work?” the answer primarily depends on if both you and your partner are ready to make changes in your marriage and in your selves. If both of you are committed to change, then you will likely experience faster and better results from marriage counseling. When partners attend marriage counseling together, the counselor can work with you on changing the dynamics of the relationship and more easily get to the root of the relationship problems.
If your partner refuses to attend marriage counseling, you, individually, can still benefit from marriage counseling sessions. The counselor can work with you to develop communication skills and conflict resolution skills so that you, at least, can work on repairing the relationship. There’s only so much a marriage counselor can do if both parties do not attend. However, if you’re committed to staying in your marriage, but your partner refuses to attend marriage counseling, then we’ll work with you to help you navigate through the problems in your relationship and develop skills to effectively handle these problems.
2. Does Marriage Counseling work when divorce rates are so high?
Does marriage counseling work? Absolutely, most couples who attend marriage counseling report that counseling saved their marriage. Furthermore, the idea that 50% of marriages end in divorce is not entirely true. Going into marriage with the notion that you’ve got a 50% chance of making it work, ignores many important factors contributing to divorce rate statistics. For instance, the younger a couple marries, the higher the divorce rate. Also, childless couples tend to have higher divorce rates. The success of a marriage depends on many other factors as well. For instance, it depends on the level of commitment each partner has in the marriage. Couples who seek marriage counseling are frequently more committed to making their marriage work, and will be more likely to see success after attending marriage counseling.
3. The Sooner the Better.
It’s never too soon to go to marriage counseling. Regardless of how deep your problems are, if both parties are committed to the marriage, then marriage counseling will help. However the question “does marriage counseling work?” often is determined by how long a couple waits to start marriage counseling. Early on in the “rough patch” a marriage counselor can work with you to correct communication patterns that are contributing to your problems. A marriage counselor can also help you develop conflict-resolution skills to help the two of you work through arguments together and be able to effectively navigate through future arguments. Unfortunately many couples wait too long to begin marriage counseling and discover that their partner has already decided to call it quits.
If you’re wondering “does marriage counseling work?”, check out our Marriage Counseling FAQ page for common questions many couples ask us. Or Contact Us to start repairing your relationship now!
