How To Find The Best Marriage Counselor

Summary: Counseling tips and advice for improving your marriage and relationships. It is very difficult to come to the conclusion that your marriage is in need of counseling, but in truth, it should be a very welcome and easy thing to decide.

Have you been spending hours going through the internet looking for a suitable marriage counselor? Is this something you've talked about with friends as you try to find a marriage counselor in your area? Do you have trouble trusting people and you want to be sure you find a marriage counselor who will understand your problems?

Going out there to look for a marriage counselor on our own can be a daunting task. After all, how can you tell who is good and who's going to spew baloney? Here are a few helpful tips to getting the counseling you need.

First-Hand Experience

Whether it is with your friends and family, or through women, you meet on internet relationship forums, it can be very helpful to find out what other women or couples have gone through and the help they sought out. They can tell you what to look out for and give you the benefit of their own advice.

This is particularly helpful if you're hoping to find a Fairfax marriage counselor who will truly listen to your personal story.

The High Price of Counseling

Therapists and counselors can charge upwards of a hundred dollars an hour for a session. If you and your mate have a lot of talking to do and you both have widely different views on how to fix your problems, you can be looking at thousands of dollars in counseling fees.

The fees themselves can end up being just another thing the two of you argue about. If your husband believes that you're the one who has too much to say and that nothing is getting settled, the frustration with the whole marriage counseling process can grow quickly.

Finding Alternatives

While being able to sit down face to face with a counselor might be ideal, many household budgets today just can't handle the huge costs. A viable alternative is in making the most of the internet. You have a wealth of information at your fingertips.

On the other hand, you may find yourself with too many choices to choose from. Again, you'll want to rely on the help of other women who've been there. Look for reviews of certain sites and read carefully what others have to say about a particular marriage counselor or counseling site.

Keep in mind, however, that you'll want to be careful of people who right reviews simply to vent off their own personal frustration. Sometimes the comments and criticisms are unwarranted. Read as many as you can and make a judgment based on the variety of reviews you've read.

With a marriage that is already struggling, it can be a difficult thing to have to think about, but the more you invest in finding the proper Individual Therapy Fairfax County that you need, the better the chances are of saving your marriage.

Also, make sure you get your husband on board. Whether it's on the internet or outside the home, if you find counseling on your own and then go on to tell him what you've learned, the effect will be greatly diminished, unless the problem was strict with you and your marriage counselor was able to make you see the light.

Helping save your troubled marriage

Seeking a third-party intervention can be effective in helping save your troubled marriage. But you have to know that you can always choose this option as the first step and not just as the last recourse when serious problems occur. When you feel your efforts are not enough in resolving issues in your marriage, by all means, consult a marriage counselor to get advice on the proper ways you can take to handle matters better.

Trusted marriage therapist

You need to search for an established and trusted marriage therapist in your area. Ask your friends, relatives or colleagues for referrals if you're new to this. Shortlist those referred to you and contact each of them to find out more about their services and fees. And once you've chosen a particular counselor, you may want to pay him or her a visit right away. A good counselor should be able to tell you upfront what his or her experience is as well as other credentials such as academic degrees completed and programs or projects implemented. Licenses and accreditation should also be mentioned if possible.

Fees for marriage counseling

An important thing to consider as well as how much you can afford. Keep in mind that these marriage counselors charge a certain fee and they may need you to attend several sessions to help you in your goal of improving your relationship with your spouse. So don't be shy to ask how much the therapist charges per session. Costs can differ but the average is about $100 for each session. Some therapists may also base their fees on the client's income although others can accept insurance.