Spirituality and Couples Counseling
Both Ike and Hannah are very active in their church - a small but bustling Christian church in their town. When they first began having problems, they wanted to make sure they found a couples counselor who spoke their language and understand the couple’s need for spiritual guidance and prayer in addition to psychological counseling.
Hannah had an extramarital affair almost 20 years ago and it was still causing difficulty in their marriage. Both had met with their pastor repeatedly but were still not moving past it. A friend had suggested professional counseling and the couple agreed. 20 years is a long time and they wanted to ensure the next 20 were free of the resentment and insecurities they had both experienced due to this infraction.
The couple chose a counselor who had attended their church in the past and was still an active church member. This comforted the couple. The counselor also used their spiritual strengths as a tool to mend this rift, with the use of prayer.
Both Hannah and Ike finally had a break-through that allowed some of the stored up resentment and hurt to dissipate. It wasn’t easy. Ike said he had gotten used to “holding this affair against her” and occasionally used it as a weapon at times, for self-protection. Now they had to start anew and feel vulnerable with one another.
Hannah was particularly grateful for her choice of a counselor:
I wanted someone who knew we’d use God for assistance, in addition to professional help. Our counselor not only understood this, but encouraged it. We spoke the same language.
