Baton Rouge Marriage Counseling

Our Baton Rouge marriage counseling professionals are available and currently have openings for new couples. The bottom line is: marriage counseling works! If you are having problems in your relationship, don’t wait too long to seek professional help. Research shows that marital counseling is effective and that it’s important to get professional help early on, preferably before problems reach critical stage. Chances are, if you’re reading this, your marriage or relationship needs help. Marriage counseling is generally short term. You may need only a few sessions to help you weather a crisis, sometimes longer, particularly if your relationship has significantly deteriorated. If you’re looking for the best marriage counseling in Baton Rouge, you’ve come to the right place. Make the call today, CALL: (225) 293-2913 and make the appointment.

More About Marriage Counseling Baton Rouge

You can make your marriage work. It is NOT too late. Marriage counseling, sometimes called “relationship counseling” or “couples counseling” is an opportunity to interact with a professional therapist who will not judge or criticize, but who has the experience, willingness and the courage to give you constructive feedback and tell you the truth. First, we focus on specifically defining and “diagnosing” where your relationship is now, and what part each of you play. We examine and take inventory of what is not working, and the thinking, perceptions, and attitudes that sustain the problem. Each partner takes an honest look at their own issues, some of them likely dating back to the family of origin. Chances are you are going to find plenty of things to work on in yourself before you ever get to focus on your partner! In order to be able to start shaping your relationship into what you want it to be, you’re going to need to gain insight into how and why the things you’ve been doing are not working. Next we set specific goals to assist you in reconnecting with each other and look at ways to manage and maintain what you’ve learned. Sound interesting? There is hope. You and your partner can begin working to get what you want, stop the pain, and create more love, peace, and joy in your marriage.

Is Marriage Counseling Effective?

An article published in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy compiled data from clients of marriage counseling from fifteen (15) different states that disclosed their experiences with counseling. Findings indicate marriage counselors treated a broad range of issues, the course of couples sessions are generally shorter than with individual counseling, and client satisfaction and improvement in functioning are significantly high.

Of client subjects from 526 marriage counselors in 15 states:

* 98.1% rated the counseling services as good or excellent
* 97.4% were satisfied with the service they received
* 97.1% reported they got the help they desired
* 96.9% would recommend their counselor to a friend
* 94.3% would return to the same counselor in the future
* 93.0% are able to deal more effectively with problems
* 91.2% were satisfied with the amount of help they received in counseling
* 73.7% indicated improvement in their children’s behavior
* 63.4% reported improved in their physical health
* 58.7% showed improvement in their children’s school performance
* 54.8% reported improvement in functioning at work

Excerpted from “Clinical Practice Patterns of Marriage and Family Therapists: A National Survey of Therapists and Their Clients”, Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. Vol 22, No. 1.

To schedule an appointment today, call Baton Rouge Counseling at (225) 293-2913.

Premarital Counseling

Premarital counseling or premarital “couples counseling” generally consists of 4 to 6 sessions and can reduce the risk of divorce by up to thirty percent and lead to a significantly happier marriage, according to marriage research. It can also reduce the stress of the pre-wedding period. A reasonable investment of time and energy now can make your odds a whole lot better over the long run. You want to do everything you can to ensure that your dreams of a great marriage and a great life are realized. Research also shows there is an important window of opportunity the year before the wedding and about six months or so after when couples obtain maximum benefit from pre-marriage counseling. We will look at compatibility, communication patterns, examine strengths, and identify potential roadblocks to your success. We will also complete a “genogram” on each partner–a visual map of your family of origin–much like a family tree. The purpose of the genogram is to examine family dynamics that impact your present day beliefs about relationships. Premarital counseling is a fantastic investment in your future as a couple. Call Baton Rouge Counseling at (225) 293-2913 to schedule an appointment.

Adultery, Affairs, Infidelity and Cheating

One of the biggest destroyers of marriage is when one or both partners takes their sexuality outside of the marriage. Adultery, Affairs, Infidelity, Cheating — No matter what you call it, nothing damages a relationship or hurts quite as bad as finding out the person you love has cheated. Infidelity doesn’t always involve sex. When a person engages in any kind of romantic, sexual expression or intimacy outside the marriage, a breach of faith occurs, causing damage to the relationship. Some examples of this breach are: secret Internet or texting affairs (private chatting or emailing), pornography, fantasy crushes, emotional affairs (intimate talking but no sex). While people who engage in these practices are not actually having extramarital sex per se, they are purposely directing romantic or sexual energy outside of their relationship. These activities often begin innocently enough. While they may not have all of the same repercussions as physical adultery, they still betray the other person and the relationship. Dishonesty, deception, and unfaithful behavior are generally symptoms of a greater problem that exists in the relationship. Intimacy suffers, walls are built, sexual desire goes away, interest vanishes, and isolation ensues.

The good news is that an affair doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the marriage. If you are willing to give counseling a chance, your marriage can recover from infidelity. It takes a serious commitment and a willingness on both sides to take a hard look at themselves, the marriage, and to be willing to talk openly about what’s been going on. It takes getting honest with yourself and each other and telling it like it is. Our Baton Rouge marriage counselors are experienced and ready to help. If you want things to be different and you’re not ready to give up on your marriage, then contact Baton Rouge Counseling at (225) 293-2913 to schedule an appointment.