Marriage counseling is not only a preparation before marriage, but also helps couples to resolve conflicts in the household. By undergoing this counseling, it is hoped that the conflicts that occur will not be prolonged or lead to divorce.
Marriage counseling or couples therapy is a form of psychotherapy for married couples or prospective husbands and wives. This therapy aims to find solutions to every household problem faced by a couple.
Marriage counseling is usually carried out in a short period of time with an average of 12 meetings.
The Role of Counselors and Marriage Counseling Sessions
Marriage counseling helps couples identify and resolve conflicts in the home and improve their relationship. Through marriage counseling, couples can find solutions to rebuild a harmonious relationship or even decide to separate.
A couple may consider marriage counseling if they experience any of the following problems:
- Communication problem
- Sexual problems
- Conflict in parenting
- Mixed family conflict (widower or widow remarries and brings children from previous marriage)
- Abuse of illegal drugs
- Emotional control
- Disloyalty or distrust
- There are major changes in domestic life, such as the death of a family member, moving house, birth of a child, or economic conditions
Marriage counseling is generally provided by a licensed marriage counselor or therapist. They are third parties who can identify and resolve household problems objectively.
Marriage counselors can help couples in many ways, such as:
- Assessing the positive and negative aspects of a couple's relationship
- Help couples find and understand the root of the problem
- Contribute to problem solving efforts
- Finding resources that can strengthen marriage
- Rebuilding communication between couples
- Make couples regain trust and commitment in marriage
Various Benefits of Marriage Counseling
Basically, marriage counseling is done to provide solutions to problems that are present in the household. The following are some of the benefits of doing marriage counseling:
1. Improve relationship with partner
Infidelity, communication and financial problems, lack of emotional contact, or addiction to alcohol or drugs can put a strain on a husband-wife relationship.
By taking marriage counseling, counselors can identify problems, rebuild couple communication, and find solutions to these problems.
2. Overcoming sexual problems in marriage
Marriage counseling can also help couples identify and address a variety of physical and emotional issues that can interfere with sexual intercourse, such as erectile dysfunction, low libido, or a history of abuse.
3. Guiding couples who have mental disorders
Marriage counseling can help a husband or wife to understand and know what to do if their partner suffers from a mental disorder. This therapy can also prevent someone from blaming everything on a partner who has mental illness.
4. Provide support in cases of domestic violence
Marriage counseling also helps in cases of domestic violence (KDRT). However, if the violence has escalated to the point where the victim's physical, mental and life are threatened, then counseling alone is not enough.
Contact the police or the women's and child protection integrated service center (P2TP2A) for assistance.
Choosing the Right Marriage Counselor
The following are some ways that can be done to determine the right marriage counselor:
Ask friends or family
An easy way to choose a marriage counselor is to ask for recommendations from friends or family who have been through counseling and have benefited from it. However, if neither of them has ever had marriage counseling, you can ask your doctor for a recommendation.
Collect dataand information
After getting a few names of counselors, find out their educational background, licensed or not, where the practice is, how much it costs, and how long the counseling sessions are.
The selection of a counselor must be done carefully, because it can determine the results of the marriage counseling carried out.
If you and your partner have problems in your married life, don't hesitate or be ashamed to undergo marriage counseling or consult a psychologist so that the problems you are facing can be resolved immediately.
