Rekindle Counselling Ltd » Relationship Therapy

Family Therapy

Jerry Jordan, MBA, MEd, MCouns — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:39:14 +0000

Family Systems Therapy can include “couple’s therapy” and involves the counselling of members within the familial structure. Other terms may be used, such as “Relationship Therapy”, “Relationship Counselling” and “Marriage Counselling”, depending on the family members being counselled.

Pre-marital Counselling and Therapy

Jerry Jordan, MBA, MEd, MCouns — Sat, 16 May 2009 23:33:08 +0000

Counselling for couples engaged or otherwise considering marriage is something that has largely been encouraged by religious organisations that perform weddings, but hopefully this will change so that pre-marriage counselling becomes common for all couples – whether they are religious and having a religious wedding ceremony, or not.

Why is pre-marital counselling a good idea? Marriage is difficult in the modern world, with so much stress put on new families, including the reality that most modern couples have to both work, just to survive financially. Add to financial responsibilities the stresses of child-rearing, dealing with extended families, global economic volatility (which can affect job stability, among other things) and a host of other factors close to home and the stress put upon new and growing families is very intense. To see the effects of these factors on the modern family, we only have to see the divorce statistics for countries in the Western world.

Pre-marriage counselling gives couples a chance to consider whether their long-term goals dreams and visions are compatible. Couples are able to begin their marriage understanding the desires and needs of their partners, because they have openly discussed these things beforehand. Does your partner want kids? Does he or she want a similar lifestyle to what you want? How does your partner deal with grief, loss, anxiety and other issues that could put a strain on your marriage? What does your partner believe the role of extended family should be for you two? Many people enter marriage believing that they know the answers to these questions and many more, but find that they are sadly mistaken once they are married and have committed their well-being (and possibly the well-being of their children) to another.

All couples should consider pre-marital counselling before making one of the biggest decisions of their lives.

Compatibility Assessments for Couples

Jerry Jordan, MBA, MEd, MCouns — Wed, 13 May 2009 00:02:39 +0000

In addition to the online courses for counsellors that I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I am in the planning stages of developing online compatibility assessments for dating and engaged couples. A common trait among people in general and perhaps even more the case with couples is an assumption that others understand your perspectives/views/preferences/goals and it is a sad awakening when a person finds out that their life partner of several years is not the person that they imagined him or her to be.

A great deal goes unsaid during the dating and courtship phases and it is hoped that eventually couples will begin to consider compatibility before committing themselves fully to a new relationship. While the compatibility questionnaire and assessment is not yet available, I hope to have it ready within a few months. It will take me at least this long to complete the preparation of the assessment and get it integrated into my software.

Ideally, this type of assessment would become a standard part of pre-marital counselling, if not already used by couples before this counselling.