Are you and your spouse thinking about signing up for marriage counseling? If so, you may be wondering how long it’ll take for you to work through the issues you might be having.
According to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the average married couple spends about 12 sessions working with a marriage counselor. But there are also some couples in fact that meet with a marriage counselor for more than 50 sessions.
The length of time that you spend in counseling with your spouse will depend on a few key factors. Here are the things that will play a role in how long marriage counseling will take.
What Are Your and Your Spouse’s Goals?
When you and your spouse decide to sign up for marriage counseling sessions, one of the first things a marriage counselor will help you with is to come up with goals that you want to reach as a couple.
In some cases, your goals might include something very general like, “improve communication.” In others, they might feature something more specific like, “rebuild trust after a recent act of infidelity.”
Whatever the case, identifying and being aware of your goals will help a marriage counselor determine how long marriage counseling might take. Learning how to communicate with your spouse more effectively might only take a few sessions, but re-establishing trust after an affair could take a lot longer.
How Hard Are You and Your Spouse Going to Work at Your Goals?
You and your spouse can make up as many goals for your relationship as you want. But it’s important to decide on the goals and work on reaching them as a team.
Both you and your spouse need to work and put a lot of effort and time into counseling to improve communication or rebuild trust in order for marriage counseling to be effective. If only one person is putting in all the effort, you may not see the results you expected.
Who Is Your Marriage Counselor Going to Be?
The marriage counselor that you select to provide you with counseling services could be the deciding factor in how many sessions you and your spouse will want to have.
It’s important to find a marriage counselor that you have good chemistry with and both trust. You want to make sure the therapist is always objective and in the best interest of the relationship. The therapist should never take sides, but needs to only be on the side of the relationship.
Give Marriage Counseling a Try Today to See How It Can Help
Some couples are hesitant to try marriage counseling because they think they’re going to have to spend a long time in meeting with a counselor. But more often than not, that’s not the case. It is up to you and your partner and the unique issues in your relationship that will determine how long you want to be in counseling.
As long as you and your spouse are committed to marriage counseling, it shouldn’t take more than three to six months to start to feel positive shifts in your relationship. It’ll prove to be well worth your time as you learn how to process feelings, talk about sensitive issues, and work towards deepening intimacy.
We are a group of skilled therapists with over 20 years of experience specializing in couples/marriage counseling in New York City, Scarsdale, East Hampton, Buffalo and Albany. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation to learn more about our online or in person marriage counseling services.
