When should a couple seek marriage counseling/family therapy?
What kinds of skills do couples usually learn in counseling?
Examples of skills couples learn in sessions with Robin Weinberger:
What is the typical length of marital therapy? How many sessions are required?
The severity of problems that married couples bring to therapy can range from minor to very severe, so it is a difficult question to answer. Many couples may benefit greatly from as few as 3 to 6 sessions. However, longer, more entrenched problems may take longer to find workable solutions.
What does it cost, and will insurance pay?
Robin Weinberger's fees are typical and customary of licensed therapists with comparable training and experience in the South Florida region. The fee for all sessions is $200.00 per hour, and last 50 minutes. Special accommodations may be made for persons with financial difficulties. While the cost may appear high, the cost of and the potential benefits of therapy must be weighed against the potential high price of doing nothing and allowing problems and the marriage to worsen and deteriorate. There is so much at stake.
Insurance companies have coverage for family therapy, but the benefits vary greatly. You can check your insurance, or upon request, our office will gladly verify your coverage. If coverage exists, you need only pay, at time of services, the deductible or co-payment. As a courtesy we will file the insurance claims for you.
Do both spouses come to the first visit or should one of us go first?
It is almost always best if both partners come together to the first visit. Often, Robin will ask to see each spouse at least once individually sometime after the initial visit. However, since marital therapy is a joint effort with a great deal at stake, it is most important for both spouses to attend the sessions together.
What do I do if I want marriage counseling but my spouse refuses to come?
The spouse that is reluctant to attend counseling may have misconceptions regarding just what counseling is all about. These misconceptions include, for example, fears that the therapist will "gang up" with the opposite spouse against him or her. Nothing is farther from the truth. Your therapist is highly trained to maintain neutrality in the face of attempts by both spouses to get the therapist to side with them. It is this neutrality and willingness to hear and understand each spouse that is at the heart of effective counseling. Rather than encourage pointing fingers, it is the therapists' job to guide each spouse to a greater understanding of the issues that drive the conflicts in the marriage. With this understanding, solutions to problems can be found.
Another approach to motivate the spouse to attend counseling is to enlist him or her not to be the focus of therapy, but rather to "help the therapist" - to join in the effort to assist the therapist know more about the willing spouse. Often this approach makes the idea of counseling less threatening to the unwilling partner.
If a spouse is still resistant to the idea of marriage counseling, then you may still be able to benefit from individual counseling. The idea here is that a change in one spouse can significantly effect the behavior of the other spouse.
For example, by improving your own communication skills with your spouse, the reluctant spouse may notice a change for the better during conflict and problem-solving and may be motivated to make changes as well. If nothing else, the willing partner can often learn from counseling, how to cope better with a stressful marriage situation.
What can we expect to happen in the first session?
The symptoms of marital distress most often arise from each spouse viewing the same issue from different perspectives. Therefore, during the initial session, Robin will want each of you to describe the problems from your perspective. She will want to know long these problems have existed and what has and has not worked in the past in finding solutions. She will want to know what goals and expectations each partner has for counseling. Together Robin and the couple will formulate a 'game plan' to tackle the problems. She will try to answer any questions the couple has about the counseling process. Very often Robin will suggest a 'homework' assignment or some special activity for the couple to do between sessions that is intended to powerfully address their most pressing problems.
What can I expect from marriage counseling?
Robin's approach is solution-oriented and designed to aid couples in developing skills to address and resolve their most pressing problems. The successful outcome of marital therapy aims to yield the following results: