Managing Time and Counseling
It’s not always easy to manage the time for the work that marriage counseling often entails. Such was the case of Jorge and Marie. Both had started a business that was working in the red for the first few years. They were consumed with making it work and it was putting a great deal of strain in their marriage, causing arguments at home as well as in the workplace, even in front of employees. When a fellow friend and employee suggested counseling, they weren’t sure how they could manage another item on an already busy schedule.
Once they started, they were instantly relieved. The counselor helped navigate them through the immediate stress of their business as well as breaking the pattern of some well-worn arguments. Unfortunately, Jorge and Marie couldn’t continue with counseling on a weekly basis. It was becoming another financial stressor for them and it was simply hard to fit in to their busy schedules.
The counselor suggested meeting every other week. At first, Jorge and Marie felt this defeated the purpose - they wanted to maximize their experience and felt that could only be done on a weekly basis. And while the counselor agreed that counseling is maximized when it’s more frequent, they all recognized that meeting bi-monthly was better than nothing at all. Jorge and Marie continued their work this way for an entire year, always looking forward to the quiet sanctity of their counselor’s office for a much-needed break.
Time has become something we need to manage in this day and age. It’s never an easy thing. But if we don’t make the time for ourselves and our most important connections, then we find ourselves easily unmoored and at the whim of never-ending stream of busyness. Making time for counseling is ultimately making time for ourselves.
