The Marriage Counseling Blog

Sal and Barb had been married for 22 years. They were both calm individuals and kept their own personal dramas to a minimum. They had a lot of interests in common, including hiking, which contributed to a better than average communication line between the two of them. In short, they were well [...]

When marriage counseling is not used to help a couple come to a better understanding in their relationship then it is quite often a family therapist who is called in to pick up the pieces when a couple decides to divorce. And their family needs real help. It would have been helpful if the [...]

The sheer availability and popularity of social networking websites has enabled many families to stay in touch with one another even when separated by long distances. In some cases, however, it has also exacerbated emotional distancing techniques that are detrimental to healthy family communication and lasting, sustainable relationships.
When family members are kept apart by [...]

Families are complex micro cultures that take on incredible proportions of emotion and effort in our lives. When a marriage combines existing families and attempts to blend these families seamlessly without real understanding and knowledge of each individual, the adjustment can be very difficult.
The issues that existed in the original family form [...]

As a parent and or step parent, it is your responsibility to help ensure that your children and step children successfully navigate the obstacles that face a blended family and come out knowing that they are loved and safe in whichever family they are with. You can never overestimate the importance of family and the [...]

Many family therapists are called on to help children who have or will shortly be moving away long distance. Long distance moving can be difficult on a family, especially one with school age children. Moving to a new home is always a stressful event, but for a child it can be even more so, [...]

Family therapists recognize the benefits of family traditions. The bonds that are formed and verified through taking part in family traditions as well as the group dynamics that play a part in finding your role in family traditions are all important.
Jerry said:
It takes time, love and work to find the right healthy [...]

Family therapists often find themselves playing the role of Memory Keeper for families adjusting to difficult moves. Especially now, with so many families losing their home and being forced to adjust to new living arrangements in new neighborhoods or buildings, saying goodbye to an old home is often saying goodbye to an old life. [...]

Many families seek out family therapy because their children are depressed and acting out against their family, their peers and their teachers. Often times this pattern of anti-social behavior has been growing for years and is now reaching it’s peak. Children and teenagers are social creatures, but without the access to that social network, [...]

Family therapy is all about the connections that family members have with the each other and the group as a whole. Simple relational therapy or marriage therapy cannot cover the complex dynamics of a family, especially a family that is working in crisis mode and needs assistance. Many people wonder why a group counseling [...]

For family groups that have found themselves seeking out the help they require in family counseling, the fears and anxieties about failing can be terrifying. Parents understandably fear losing their children or, as one parent put it, “screwing them up for life.”
Sandy:
Sol and I had been in marriage counseling before. Honestly, we wanted [...]

When a trusted family friend or Doctor suggests family therapy, many people immediately think of the type of therapy involving a central therapist and a patient. Family therapy is much different than individual therapy, however, and more people would probably be more open to the idea if they knew what it entailed.
Group Dynamics in [...]

Family counseling is one of the major steps needed to help families in crisis due to drug abuse. Families receive the help they need with family counseling and drug and alcohol counseling services. Professionals skilled at family therapy specialize in both adolescents and adult family members in need of counseling.
Some of the family [...]

Family Therapy is something that most families attend when things get really difficult and they aren’t sure where else to turn. For some families, however, it is the last stop before a divorce.
It is common for judges to require family therapy if a couple with children has filed for divorce. This is done [...]

Eric and Alex had what they and everyone else around them considered as perfect a marriage as could be found. They had dated for two years before Eric proposed then went to pre-marital counseling before the wedding to be sure that, on that special day, they had done everything they could to ensure a successful, [...]

Family therapy is one of the best options available when a couple goes from a romantic twosome to busy team leaders raising children. The past decades have seen a massive change in the dynamic of women’s roles and, more often than not, the women having children are busy career professionals that lead already personally [...]

Many readers have written to us in response to the post on Emotional Infidelity and how many aspects of it can also be considered role transference. Emotional infidelity is most usually described as the emotional attachment to someone who is not your spouse but is essentially filling every role usually played out except [...]

Anger in a marriage takes a far deeper toll when there are children involved. Wheareas some couples may feel that spark of excitement when they argue, it is simply not a good enough reason to accept those patterns of relating once there are children in a home.
Anger itself is a very negative [...]

Family counselors are becoming a very helpful resource for families that have grown in a variety of ways. Whereas the traditional family idea of opposite sex parents and biological children is the most commonly thought of, the reality is that, these days, the family next door is just as likely to have become a [...]

One of the most beneficial aspects of attending couples therapy sessions is the ability to learn that you are not alone in how you feel, relate or react. Couples therapy allows couples in many different stages of relationships to see that there are hills and valleys to every partnership and many of those are [...]

Family Therapists have long recommended the bonding process of family rituals to increase communication and create lasting and supporting relationships. There are as many different family rituals as there are families, and no one set of rituals will mean the same thing to everyone.
Family Rituals

Sports: In a family for whom sports is a [...]

One of the most difficult scenarios encountered in family therapy is therapy initiated to deal with a loss. The death of a family member, be it something that already happened or a death that is unavoidable and coming soon, is an unbearable stress for most families to deal with on their own without outside [...]

Family therapy is often the last resource brought out to help families dealing with conflict. Whereas marriage counseling and couples counseling is therapy designed to focus on a relationship, family counseling helps entire families identify and resolve their conflicts.
Falling out of love and financial woes or infidelity are the types of issues most often [...]

Marriage and Family Therapy is one of the areas of therapy that provides help and assistance to families and marriages in trouble. For those who think that only marriage therapy is in order, not family therapy, you may be surprised to find out just how beneficial family therapy can be to everyone involved. [...]

Family counseling is one of the ways that a family can save their relationships and move on, together. For Julie and Bob, 20 years of an unhappy marriage was endured quietly in order to raise their now adolescent children, however they were ready to move on. The trick was finding a way to [...]

Family counseling is a helpful way to assist children in adjusting to their parents’ divorce. For many couples who did not seek counseling to help them get through their marital issues, family counseling to help their children may be far from their minds, however many professionals recommend counseling to help children in divorce.
How your children [...]

Family therapy is one of the ways to ease the adjustment of newly blended families. Divorce is still a common option between married couples, and as these newly divorced couples with children begin to go out and date again, eventually many o them meet another mate. When a marriage combines existing families, its an [...]

Family counseling is one of the pathways that families turn to when they are in trouble. There are many reasons for a family to turn to therapy, including mental or physical health issues in one family member that are affecting the entire family as a whole, but on occasion, the reasons for seeking family [...]

We may make jokes about our mother-in-laws, but for a few, it’s not a laughing matter. Some mother-in-law issues can eat away at a marriage. Anna and Derek sought out couples therapy when Anna threatened to leave because Derek was insisting his mother move in.  
 Anna shares:
I can’t believe I’m thinking of leaving my marriage over [...]

Maybe it’s time to take a good hard look at your marriage–and realize what’s right with it. No one’s going to value your marriage if you don’t. Life is tough all around, and every couple has had their fair share of challenges. Misscarriages, bankruptcy, cancer, severe car accidents, lay-offs, and military call to duties abound–but so [...]