Mental Health Monday – The Main Benefits of Marriage Counselling 

Good morning and happy new week! Today I have a guest post to share with you all about marriage counselling – what it is, what it can help with and where you might be able to find help.

Having done rather well in previous university assignments in family and relationship therapy, and been told by my tutor it is an area I should look into pursuing when I finish my degree, I am really interested in anything to do with this.

The main benefits of marriage counselling | Peer Collective  

How does marriage counselling work?  

Despite the positive influence counselling has proven to have over the years, there still seems to be a stigma attached to marriage counselling. It’s important to acknowledge that people who are in seemingly “broken” relationships are not the only ones that choose to go through marriage counselling. Some couples go through the process regularly as a way to maintain their relationships and prevent problems from arising (or repeating themselves) in the future.  

Marriage counselling is a form of therapy that focuses solely on relationships, helping the respective parties build strong and more synchronized connections. And, as of 2021, couples counselling is known to have a 75% success rate in doing exactly that. That’s a comforting figure for those couples seeking the reassurance of counseling as a means of help.  

Falling in love is exciting and getting married is exhilarating, but it’s often the evolution of everything that follows after that which is not always easy. When factors such as having children or financial issues are thrown into the mix, marriage can get challenging. If issues arise from these changing seasons in your relationship — as individuals or as a couple — marriage counseling with a peer counsellor may be a worthwhile resource to consider.  

Signs you might need to consider marriage counselling  

There is a multitude of reasons you may need to consider marriage counselling — here are a few:  

• You and your partner are arguing more frequently, with some arguments being totally avoidable or repetitive 
• There are trust issues in your relationship, caused by either unfaithfulness or other factors 

• Communication is not as effective as it used to be — you don’t seem to see eye-to-eye anymore or cannot seem to agree 
• You or your partner has become secretive and find you cannot speak as openly about big (or small) matters as you did before 

Couples counselling & working through it together 

It’s important that you and your partner have a conversation about your respective needs to make sure marriage counselling is something you’re both comfortable exploring. Getting on the same page from the get-go is important so there are no misalignments further down the line. If you’re able to, you both need to commit to it together and agree that you’re both going to put in 100% effort throughout the process. When this happens, it’s more likely you’ll get 100% out of it. Getting your relationship back to a good place means working as a team.  

Considering online marriage counselling 

Online marriage counseling may seem like a strange concept because it’s different from the traditional counselling sessions we typically see in movies. This form of counselling is way more flexible and accessible and its virtual format often takes some of the nerves away. You and your partner will have the opportunity to choose a peer counsellor that has experience with couples, and decide together who you think you’ll form a relationship with or who’ll be best for your “team”. If you aren’t a good fit, you can choose a different counsellor at any time. Put the needs of your relationship first and consider the positives of taking this step and the lasting impact it could have on your future.   

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I hope you found this helpful, or at least interesting to learn more about. Through the Covid pandemic, a lot of therapy went online or via telephone and I think it has really opened it up to a whole new group of people. I have done both in person and telephone counselling and actually my last series of counselling which was over the telephone was the most helpful to me. There are lots of new apps and websites popping up offering this, but all I ask is you make sure you find somewhere reputable, with appropriately qualified and accredited therapists.

Take care and keep safe everyone,