The “Turnaround Time” in Marriage Counseling
One reason many couples give for not attending couples counseling is a feeling that it will take forever. They think their problems are so in-depth, it would take years to unravel their difficult, multi-layered problems. The truth of the matter is that it doesn’t take as long as your worst fears!
Couples counselors are trained to identify problems quickly. It can take all of a session or two for a counselor to get a fairly thorough sense of the dynamics and interplay between the couple as well as the complexity of the problem. Part of this is because of the counselor’s training, but its also a third party perspective that helps a marriage counselor to take a “step out of the woods” and look in.
Once the basic issues are identified, then its time to move forward. This can involve the couples revealing some of their deeper feelings surrounding the issues at play as well as working on solid communication skills, so he or she can convey the issue to the partner in a way that’s healthy and more importantly…heard!
When the counselor senses that the underlying issues are based in historical events (childhood, upbringing, etc.), it may take some time. After all, your issues didn’t just arise because of your partner. There’s a high likelihood you’ve been contending with them, to some degree, your entire life. In other words, your problems didn’t magically appear overnight – they took years; so often it takes some time to unravel.
Ultimately, there’s no fixed time a couples counselor can give you. It does depend on the complexity of your problem. But chances are, with a good counselor and two willing partners, goals can be accomplished fairly quickly.
Related Posts
- Marriage Counseling – When Time is on your Side
- Taking the Time for Pre-Marriage Counseling
- Marriage Counseling – When Time Doesn’t Heal All Wounds
- Marriage Counseling – Time to Listen to your Partner
- Counseling at the Right Time
