Marital counselling refers to a type of psychotherapy used to address issues in a marriage. This is done by having the couple meet with a counselor together or individually with the help of some real-life exercises. It has been proven to work well in cases of a failing marriage and even childhood trauma.
The following are the steps involved in marital counselling services:
1. Gathering Information
The counselor will begin by gathering information on what the couples are experiencing and having concerns over. This will be done by both the husband and wife separately. What they say to each other and the counselor is strictly confidential, meaning that none of it will be shared with anyone else. The counselor will then help the couple with their problems by summarizing and analyzing what was discussed earlier.
2. Providing a Therapy Plan
The counselor will then help the couple to put together a plan of action on how they can move forward and make the relationship better. This will involve short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals that both parties can achieve. The counselor will also suggest things for the couple to do regularly to keep the marriage going strong. The action plan is shared with both the husband and wife who are required to agree on it before it is put into place.
3. Preparing for Counselling Sessions
The counselor will then prepare the couple by doing some exercises together wherein they will be able to discuss and resolve their problems, as well as silently express their feelings. Each question will be answered by the counselor in a way that is acceptable for both parties to understand. This is done to help both the husband and wife develop a deeper understanding of each other through clear communication.
4. Counselling Sessions
The couple then meets with the counselor for a weekly session for about 15 minutes. In this session, the counselor guides the couple to discuss their problems and find ways of resolving them. The time allotted to this kind of counseling is shorter than that in therapy sessions which last an hour. This is because marital counseling lasts many months and the process needs to be accelerated to work with everyone’s schedules. Marital counselling services now takes placde between the parties in their own homes, or at the counseling center.
5. Follow-Up Sessions
Throughout the process of marital counseling, the counselor will check in with the couple every two to three weeks to see how they are doing and if they need some guidance. The couple’s progress will also be measured along the way. If it is found that there is a lack of progress or if the counselor finds that one party is not doing their part, counseling sessions could be extended and more sessions could be added in.
Marital counseling does not require both parties to attend counseling together. They should come separately as this helps each of them to talk more freely about what they are experiencing individually. The most important part is to recognize and accept that the marriage is in trouble and that it needs help. It takes a lot of courage and time for both parties to be able to express themselves to their partner, but the reward after all the hard work is worth it.
