Thinking Of Divorce – Save Your Marriage With A Marriage Counselor
You are thinking of divorce? Why not try to save your marriage by seeing a marriage counselor. What you must do is find one who is competent. This article should give you some sound advice about what you should be looking for when you are thinking of taking marriage counseling.
There are three levels of qualification of counselors. .
The first is the doctorate. When you see the name advertise followed by Ph.D. or Psy.D., it means that the person has spent a minimum of five years graduating. They terminated their studies by submitting a thesis concerning some aspect of their future work in which they have specialized. They have also spent a minimum of 3000 hours of therapy under the supervision of a trained psychologist.
To be able to call themselves a “clinical psychologist” they must hold a doctoral level degree. They tend to be rather academic; a lot of them continue to pursue their career as scholars. Others do forensic work as well giving regular counseling advice.
The second level is that of the Master of Social Work or M.S.W. Peoples so qualified are trained to apply social theory to differing yet specific situations. They often work in institutions but may also install themselves as counselors in private practice.
Finally, you have the the M.S. or M.A. in Counseling. They are often called “Marriage and Family Therapists,” and they can only work in counseling situations as individuals or in small groups. They have usually followed a two year degree course but have not specialized and written a thesis. They have 1500 hours of therapy working under supervision.
When your insurance company is paying for your marriage counseling they usually orientate you towards the second and third levels because the fees they ask are less costly.
Next you have to fix a price for your counseling. You will find that Clinical psychologists are generally the most expensive than while Marriage and Family Therapists. Don’t lose sight of your objective of stopping your divorce. You must look for someone you are both able to relate to and not the most expensive professional on the market.
Study the cost of an individual session and find out how long the treatmentexpected to take, to be able to work out the total cost. Some marriage counselors work in non profit making institutions who charge rates following the income level of the couple. This might mean that you can afford the counseling, where otherwise you might have found the cost too onerous.
Often, therapists working in groups or non profit institutions will have a sliding scale fee based on a couple’s income. If you qualify, this might make marriage counseling affordable when it otherwise might not be.
Last you should look at how the therapists operate. If you miss a session do you have still have to pay for it? Can you take the holidays you have planned without having to pay the sessions you miss? Can you call your therapist outside the normal sessions you are taking, can you call them at home or only at their office? Do they have a stand in when they are absent, who you can call when you have a serious problem.
The family counselor is there to help you so that your family stays together and does not disintegrate. The ultimate goal is to save your marriage. It is important that you both have a good personal contact with you marriage counselor, so where you don’t get on with them you should change and find someone who you both consider more suitable.
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