Counseling for Couples on the Brink
If you or your spouse are considering divorce but are not completely sure that’s the best path, you are in a tough spot. And Discernment Counseling is designed for you. It’s a chance to slowdown, take a breath, and look at your options for your marriage.
Discernment Counseling is a new way of helping couples where one person is “leaning out” of the relationship—and not sure that regular marriage counseling would help–and the other is “leaning in”—that is, interested in rebuilding the marriage.
The counselor will help you decide whether to try to restore your marriage to health, move toward divorce, or take a time out and decide later.
The goal is for you to gain clarity and confidence about a direction, based on a deeper understanding of your relationship and its possibilities for the future.
The goal is not to solve your marital problems but to see if they are solvable. You will each be treated with compassion and respect no matter how you are feeling about your marriage at the moment. No bad guys and good guys.
You will come in as a couple but the most important work occurs in the one-to-one conversations with the counselor. Why? Because you are starting out in different places.
The counselor respects your reasons for divorce while trying to open up the possibility of restoring the marriage to health.
The counselor emphasizes the importance of each of you seeing your own contributions to the problems and the possible solutions. This will be useful in future relationships even if this one ends.
Number of Sessions: Typically a maximum of five counseling sessions. Sessions are typically 90-120 minutes in length.
Discernment Counseling is not suited for these situations:
- When one spouse has already made a final decision to divorce
- When one spouse is coercing the other to participate
- When there is danger of domestic violence
What to expect
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If you believe that Discernment Counseling (DC) may be a good fit for you, reach out here and let us know you’re interested in DC.
- One of our therapists will reach out to you with a quick phone call and/or email screening, to determine if Discernment Counseling is the right fit for you.
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If DC is determined to be the right fit, we’ll help you schedule your intake session.
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Attend sessions. Discernment Counseling is typically completed within five counseling sessions. At the conclusion of each session, you will determine if you would like to schedule an additional session.
- By the end of Discernment Counseling, you will have greater clarity and confidence on your decision to continue your relationship as it has been, move towards divorce, or engage in couples therapy to restore your marriage.