By Krystal Kuehn, MA, LPC, LLP, NCC
Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success. ~Henry Ford
Good marriages are the very foundation of happy and healthy families. Keeping marriages strong and working through challenges successfully can help a family thrive. Marriages are constantly faced with challenges today. Whether it is communication problems, infidelity, parenting, substance abuse, or loss of a family member, marriage counseling has many benefits. Not only does marriage counseling help in working through problems, it enhances relationships and opens up lines of communication. One of the most common complaints of couples is that they do not feel heard or understood by their partners. A marriage therapist can help couples communicate in such a way that they can understand, accept, and respect each other’s perspective. They can begin to feel safe in sharing their feelings and thoughts, release anger and bitterness, and trust again. They can draw closer than they thought possible.
Marriage counseling can also help to reduce the chance of problems becoming worse, and relationships drifting, becoming damaged, or ending in divorce. Research has found that professional counseling improves relationships and the physical and mental health of all family members is significantly improved.
Marriage counseling has many benefits to those who want to build strong, healthy, and happy marriages. Great relationships do not just happen. There is investment involved, that is, investment of time, effort, and sacrifice. Some of the most successful marriages are those that have undergone some of the most difficult times and committed to work on them together.
Getting help to improve or save a marriage is one of the wisest, most loving things a couple can do for their own well-being, for their children and families, and for their future. No marriage need suffer from the pressures of unresolved problems that lead to even bigger problems. Help is available and it can make a difference for life!
Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years. ~Simone Signoret
