Reasons To Try Marriage Therapy
Most married couples would benefit from marriage therapy if they would allow themselves the privilege. For some, marriage therapy is perceived as something couples do only when the marriage is in trouble. For others, marriage therapy is too expensive, both in time and money. For others, marriage therapy is an embarrassment; an admission of failure. “After all,” they say, “we ought to be able to work things out ourselves.” I have heard all of these reasons against marriage therapy. The reality is that too often couples wait until the marriage in in trouble and then the patterns of behavior are so deeply engrained and the emotional wounds are so deep that the needed reparative work is much more difficult.
Marriage therapy is not just for couples in trouble. In fact, one way to think about marriage therapy is “marriage enrichment.” Developing communication and relationship skills improves marital intimacy. Gaining insight into why you behave the way that you behave and how that affects the marriage increases marital satisfaction. Even the very best marriages benefit from these insights and skills.
Marriage therapy is expensive. The average therapist in our area will cost about $100-$125/session. That is expensive. However, one couple get-away weekend in Destin, FL, will cost about the same as 10 sessions of couple therapy. Also, I can promise that therapy is much less expensive than a divorce. The measure of expense is relative to what is important to you.
Marriage therapy is not an admission of failure. Rather, marriage therapy is a sign of wisdom and maturity. If the marriage is important to you, why not work with someone who has training and knowledge. We seek out trained specialists in our work, our recreational pursuits, and most other areas of our lives. It only makes practical sense that we would seek out the wisdom of those who are more trained in relationship skills than we.
It has been my joy to see many couples who have gone through couple therapy and report that their marriages are more secure than ever. So, let me encourage you to give it a try.