Is your marriage having problems to the degree that you are thinking about getting a divorce? Well have you thought about using the help of a marriage counselor? There are a lot of different kinds of marriage counselors and it can be tricky knowing which one to choose. Let’s talk about some things you should look out for in a marriage counselor.
The first thing you need to do is to know what their credentials are. There are essentially three types of counselors as follows:
1. Ph.D. or Psy.D. level counselor. These counselors have done a lot of hard work to get their entitlements. They have been to graduate school for a minimum of five years and would have written a thesis. They would have performed at least 3000 hours of therapy while administered by an able psychologist. A person must have a doctoral level degree to be officially referred to as a ‘clinical psychologist’. Ph.D.’s, although they have performed their hard work, this can be more of an academic work in nature and you may find that they will do a bit of forensic work along with the treatment.
2. M.S.W. – Master of Social Work. This kind of counselor is qualified to apply social theory to particular situations. They can work with ordinary people or with organizations.
3. M.S. or M.A. – they are also known as ‘Marriage and Family Therapists’. These counselors may only work with individuals or with groups of few people. They will have gained a 2 year degree and have done 1500 hours of administered therapy.
If you are planning to use insurance cover to help fund your marriage counseling then they will probably point you in the direction of a Marriage and Family Therapist or a M.S.W. as these are less expensive than a Ph.D. level counselor.
The second thing you need to do is find out how much the counseling will cost. You will find that clinical psychologists are generally more expensive and Marriage and Family Therapists will be the least expensive. The least expensive may not always be the best option, you need to choose the best option for saving your marriage.
You need to consider both the individual session cost as well as the overall cost for the entire length of treatment.
Some therapists may have a sliding scale fee and this is often based on a couple’s income. It is usually non-profit institutions that will offer this type of fee which can make counseling affordable for those who may not otherwise be able to afford it.
The third thing that you need to look at is the policies that a therapist has. Some questions you may want to ask are:
* Do you still pay for a session if you miss it or cancel it?
* If you go on vacation and let them know ahead that you will miss a session will you still be required to pay for it?
* Does the therapist accept phone calls at home or outside of normal session times?
* Is there an alternative therapist that you can call in an emergency?
A Marriage and Family Therapist is trained to help families work through any issues so it is their job to help you to save your marriage. You should feel comfortable talking to a counselor and if for any reason you just don’t feel comfortable with a particular therapist then you should stop seeing them and find one that you will be comfortable with.
Before giving up on your marriage and filing for divorce, try marriage counseling to try and save your marriage.
