How Successful Is Marriage Counseling?

When planning to meet a marriage counselor, it sometimes becomes difficult to believe whether visiting them will actually work. After all, an honest marriage counselor would not be able to deny that the success of marriage counseling largely depends on the motivation of the couple. If one spouse is determined upon a divorce, even a brilliant counselor would be unable to save the marriage whereas for a couple who are utterly committed to save their marriage, a mediocre counselor can make it a success. This has been the basis of a research made to determine the effectiveness of couple counseling.

The research included Family issues counselor and clients of marriage who reported on their experience with counseling. The findings of the research indicated that counselors for marriage and family considered a wide range of issues in relatively a short period of time, and that family and couple therapy are briefer compared to individual therapy while the satisfaction of clients and functional improvement were pretty high.

The studies that included clients from 526 marriage and family counselors found that:· 98.1% rated services good or excellent

· 97.4% were generally satisfied with the service

· 97.1% received their desired help

· 96.9% would recommend their therapist to a friend

· 94.3% would visit to the same therapist in the future

· 93% said they found help in dealing with problems more effectively

· 91.2% were satisfied with the help they received

· 73.7% indicated an improvement in children's behavior

· 63.4% reported improved physical health

· 54.8% reported improved functioning at work

· 58.7% showed improved children's school performance

While the study includes raw data to support the effectiveness of family and marriage counseling, a frank and honest discussion from a public forum devoted to the topic "Does Couples Counseling Work" provides a less clinical but a positive note on the topic.

Irrespective of the opinions and studies that seem to support the effectiveness of marriage counseling, there are some who think otherwise. This is amply proved by research that shows marital counseling is not as effective as it is thought to be, that it is women who get the most from it compared to men, and that the effect of it on the couple's marriage may not have a lasting effect. It is also found that the young, still in love, non-sexist, and open couples get the most from life coaching counseling therapy.

Resources:

http://www.brettrozentherapy.com/MarriageCounseling.en.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-Successful-Is-Marriage-Counseling?&id=8424296