It is a wise move to seek marriage counselling. Taking the time and making the effort to resolve difficulties in your marriage can be a very difficult step to take.

However, you can rest assured that when you engage in the counselling process you’ve made the first step to work to transform what has become a negative cycle and work together turn it into a more positive one.

Getting Started

The inital session in counselling gives your counsellor an opportunity to explain the counselling process and important issues like confidentiality and its limitations. You will both get an opportunity to name and rate the level of difficulty of your marital problems in a safe environment with the support of your counsellor.

The role of the counsellor is to help you both identify your difficulties, express your thoughts and feelings, listen to your husband /wife and try to understand their perspective. Counselling sessions offer a safe and measured environment and atmosphere where difficult things can be said and heard and where understanding can grow and compromise can develop.

In working through difficulties in the counselling room clients can learn how to address, discuss and manage the difficulties they may experience in the future in productive ways.

Understanding

In most cases, couples will attend sessions together, but sometimes it may be necessary for the counsellor to see husbands and wives individually. The counsellor’s role is to support individuals to express their fears, worries, concerns, anger, sadness, hopes and dreams, and to listen to their husband’s / wife’s fears, worries, concerns, anger, sadness, hopes and dreams. This can be a very cathartic, enlightening and also a very difficult experience for couples but with the support and guidance of the counsellor very worthwhile.

To help couples gain understanding of themselves and one another and engage in fruitful exchanges, the counsellor may use many different interventions. Such interventions might include exploring behaviours, feelings, experiences and looking back at family histories. Progress achieved in counselling sessions can also lead to a better relationship and environment at home.

Faith in the Process

Sometimes individuals may be worried that the counsellor could be biased towards one of the participants. This could cause an individual to be reluctant to attend or to avoid engaging in counselling.

However, professionally trained counsellors will be on both individuals’ sides and on the side of the relationship. They are ideally placed to facilitate discussion and understanding so both parties can become closer and more satisfied in their marriage. Their ultimate goal is the goal of most couples, marital healing.

ACCORD is a well respected and experienced agency that has in excess of 50 years experience working with couples and individuals, supporting them in their marriages and relationships. If you would like to enquire about counselling, please contact 01-5053112 or email info@accord.ie