Archive for September, 2008
Is it Time to Consider Marriage Counseling or Couples’ Therapy?
Why do the words marriage counseling and couples’ therapy strike terror into the hearts of so many husbands and wives?Certainly an interest in salvaging relationships has been a media topic for many decades in our culture. A column such as “Can this Marriage be Saved?” is only one of many in popular women’s magazines. Today even men’s magazines offer relationship advice.
As for the subjects of psychotherapy and marriage counseling, television has recently offered inside views of the process. Witness Dr. Melfi in her valiant attempts to engage Tony in the HBO hit “The Sopranos.” Even more recently HBO has offered us “Tell Me You Love Me,” an intimate look at the marriage counseling sessions of several couples. In fact, these expose’s make it easier for people to seek help, reducing the stigma and erasing some of the mystery.
However, all too often couples view seeking help for their troubled marriages as a last resort or worse, an admission of failure. The former is unfortunate while the latter is simply inaccurate.