For the past 30 years, the percentage of first marriages that ends up in divorce remains at 50 percent and statistics revealed that divorce rates vary from different factors such as partner’s level of education, religious beliefs and many more.
But when divorce happens, it is not only hard on the part of the adults but as well as to the children. The decision to end up in divorce is often met with uncertainty about the future and ambivalence and children often experience negative effects such as feelings of abandonment, denial, blame, anger etc.
While divorce may be the healthiest choice for some, a lot of couples still want to try to salvage whatever is left of the marriage. A lot of married couples often ask: marriage counseling does it work? When couples encounter challenges in their marriage, it is not bad to seek marriage counseling and here are some of the good reasons why.
1.Negative Communication
The most important part of any relationship is communication and once it has deteriorated, going back in the right direction is often hard. Categories such as partners feeling neglected, depressed or insecure falls under negative communication. This can also mean wanting to withdraw from the conversation and the tone of the conversation. Thus, it is best to remember that it’s not always what you say but how you say it. Emotional, non-verbal and physical abuse are also considered negative communication.
2. Having an Affair
Recovering from an affair takes a lot of work but it is not impossible. All it takes is the commitment and willingness to forgive and move forward- there is no secret formula. Marriage counseling services may work if both individuals are committed to salvaging the marriage. There are plenty of online marriage counseling out there that you can try to help you.
3. Unable to resolve differences
When couples say “We know what’s wrong, but we just don’t know how to fix it.” Then it is the best time to seek marriage counseling as a skilled clinician may direct them to the right direction.
4. Staying for the sake of the children
If couples are only staying together for the sake of the children, then marriage counseling may be the solution. Couples often think that staying together is the best thing to do but little do they know, it is detrimental to the children.
5. When the only solution left is separation
Most people leave their home if there’s an argument but it does not resolve the situation and if a timeout turns into an overnight stay or temporary separation then it is an indication for a need for counseling.
While not all marriages are worth salvaging, marriage counseling can remind couples why they fell in love in the first place, then it is not bad to answer the question: is marriage counseling worth it?