Every year, thousands of couples begin seeing a counselor with hopes that the therapy process will help them to improve and strengthen their relationships. But is there any evidence that couples counseling works? Actually, there is…
According to a national survey of marriage and family counselors and their clients, a couple’s motivation for improvement may be the single most important factor in determining counseling success. In a research study published by the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, it was found that client satisfaction and relationship improvement is often high with individuals in couples counseling.
Specifically, of clients from 526 couples counselors in 15 states:[i]
98.1% rated services as good or excellent
97.1% received the type of help they desired
91.2% were satisfied with the amount of help they received
93% said they were helped to deal more effectively with problems
94.3% would return to the same therapist in the future
96.9% would recommend their therapist to a friend
97.4% were satisfied with the service they received
63.4% reported improved physical health
54.8% reported improvement in functioning at work
73.7% reported improvement in their children’s behavior
58.7% reported improvement in their children’s school performance
Looking to find a couples counselor in your area? Call us anytime at 1-855-2-THRIVE.
[i] Excerpted from “Clinical Practice Patterns of Marriage and Family Therapists: A National Survey of Therapists and Their Clients”, Journal of Marital and Family Therapy–Volume 22, No. 1
1 Comment
Our experience is that marriage counseling does work .. with two very important elements in the counseling process. 1. The counselor must view the marriage as the client and develop a treatment plan to help the marriage. 2. The couple is interested in saving the marriage; not just looking as counseling as a necessary evil step to the ultimate goal of divorce.