Is It Possible To Save A Marriage- Even The Best Have Problems

Many of the religions around the world view marriage as a sacred institution that is the foundation of the family. It is extremely important in these religions to make every effort possible to save a marriage when it seems to be in trouble.

Even the best of marriages will have their bad moments and these days there does seem to be more divorce than there once was many years ago. The roles of men and women have changed considerably over the years, there seems to be much more financial pressures these days and children seem to have more behavioral issues than in the past. These all put pressure on a marriage and some will struggle to get through it.

So what do you do if your marriage is in trouble?

The church is one good place to start if your marriage needs help, after all the church does value the sanctity of marriage very highly.

Sure there are family therapists, marriage counselors or clinical psychologists that you can visit but most of these will take on an individualistic approach to the counseling. A pastor or church counselor on the other hand will take a more wholistic approach which will have a much better chance of success.

Is there an advantage to seeing a pastoral counselor rather than a secular therapist?

A secular therapist has been educated in their field but their education is almost solely on treating individuals. Even those therapists who specialize in marriage and family therapy have only had perhaps on class or elective in how to deal with couple’s therapy. Because of their lack of education for a family as a whole this approach is not always the best.

On the other hand, a pastoral counselor is educated with the aim of helping couple’s work through their problems and brings them closer together. A pastor has the belief that once the vows of marriage are taken the marriage should be forever, with the exception of an abusive relationship.

Many pastoral counselors have undergone formal education for counseling and even those who do not have a formal degree will take some seminars and classes on this topic.

If you don’t attend church regularly then you may not have a pastor already at hand to help you. Some churches may require a membership term before you can approach the pastor for such counseling.

If you are in a circumstance where you cannot get pastoral counseling then you may want to consider a couples retreat. You can call some of the churches in your area to find out if they have any upcoming couple’s retreats. These are weekend seminars that can be quite effective at helping to bring couples back together. You can also use this opportunity to establish a relationship with a pastor at the retreat who may then be able to give you further marriage counseling.

Couple’s retreats can help you to work through many issues. You may have some couple sessions and there will also be some group sessions and there may be times when you get to work through questions individually.

Communication is encouraged and is very important at these retreats. Communication is vital in a marriage and if you can improve your communication you will have a good chance at repairing any damage and saving your marriage.

Other issues such as finances, child raising and even sexual relations will be addresses at a couple’s retreat. The goal here is to get you back on track on all areas of your relationship. The goal is that you and your spouse can learn to communicate about these issues and begin to understand one another’s feelings, so that you can both make changes to help maintain a healthy relationship.

Marriage isn’t always a bed of roses, there will be tough moments that you need to work together to get through. If you are having marriage problems then consider seeking pastoral counseling to save your marriage.

What can save your marriage when everything seems hopeless?

Marriage is considered a sacred institution by most of the world’s religions.  It is the foundation of the family, which, in turn, is the foundation for society.  So, there is a lot of emphasis on saving a marriage.

But that doesn’t mean that marriages today don’t run into trouble.  The changing roles of men ad women, financial pressures, and difficulties with children all make it hard to make marriages work.

So who do you turn to?

Perhaps the best place to look is the institution that values marriage more than any other – the church.

While a clinical psychologist or licensed family therapist will take an individualistic approach to marriage counseling, a pastor will focus on making the marriage work in a wholistic sense.  Over all, this has a better chance of actually saving the marriage.

Why is a pastoral counselor better than a secular therapist?

A secular therapist’s education focuses almost entirely on treating individual psychopathologies.  Even “Marriage and Family” designated counselors may have only one class or elective dealing specifically with couple’s therapy.  Do you think this approach can save marriage?

A pastoral counselor, on the other hand, will be educated in how to bring couples closer together.  With the exception of abuse in the relationship, they have the fundamental belief that once the vows are taken, the marriage is forever.

Some pastoral counselors have formal education in counseling.  More and more seminaries are offering pastoral counseling degrees.  But even ministers without a formal degree take classes and seminars in the subject.

If you don’t have a church home, you might have some difficulty finding a pastor to help you.  And, you don’t have six months to establish membership in a church before approaching the pastor.

In this case, you can call various churches and ask them if they have any upcoming couples retreats where you can save marriage through these weekend seminars.  Once you have established a relationship with a skilled pastor in these settings, you may be able to do follow up counselor with the same person.

A good couple’s retreat will help you deal with many different types of issues.  There will be group sessions and couple’s sessions.  You will also have time to work on questions individually.

Communication is a big issue at these conferences.  If you can work on your communications issues, you will find that the other pieces of the relationship fall into place.

Sex, finances, and child raising are also addressed.  The goal is to get you back on track in every aspect of your relationship.  You don’t have to be on the same page going in, but the hope is that you will be when you leave.

Marriage is tough.  Sometimes it seems like the relationship cannot endure.  But, there are so many reasons to see if you can’t make it work.  In this case, consider seeing if a pastor can save your marriage.