Marriage therapists - an online guide to choosing

The correct choice of a marriage therapist is vital.

There are different schools and methods of marriage therapy. But it is fairly self evident that a relationship of trust and respect between both members of the marriage with the counsellor is a basic first step in trying to repair a damaged relationship.

Many people would advise against choosing a therapist who does not have a successful marriage of their own. This sounds like common sense but it’s important to remember to that your definition of successful might be different to theirs.

Its worth simply asking the marriage therapist about this at the outset and consider their response carefully: the kind of answer they give, and the way they give it, could be good indicators as to whether their advice might work for you.

Also ask the therapist how much specific experience they have in marital and relationship therapy and how many couples they work with and an assessment of their success rate. They may have successful former clients who are prepared to vouch for them.

Obviously you can find therapists from newspaper advertisements, telephone directories, and particularly from the Internet and all are good ways of making initial contact. But word-of-mouth is perhaps the best introduction and if family members or trusted friends know of a good therapist there is nothing like a warm recommendation.

A lot of material is published on the Internet about Marriage Therapy and its worth doing some reading and research as well as counselling.

The British Relate site, is one place to start, and is a good source of information on this subject.

© The Pink Fridge Online Magazine 2008 - Marriage Therapists