Discernment Counseling, Couples Considering Divorce
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 slow down, 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.
Sheila is a pro-marriage, family counselor. Our goal is to help you move forward and transform your family’s story. To schedule an appointment please call, email or schedule an appointment for discernment counseling.
Number of Sessions:
A maximum of five counseling sessions. The first session is usually two hours and the subsequent are 1.5 or 2 hours.
Discernment counseling is specifically for couples who are considering divorce but want to take a deeper look before making a permanent decision. The goal of this type of counseling is clarity about what direction the marriage should take after gaining a deeper understanding of the relationship and its problems. Sessions are divided between meeting with the couple together and individually. When a decision is reached, help will be offered towards a constructive divorce or a reconciliation plan for a healthy, successful marriage.
Unique focus area: Discernment counseling assumes that one spouse is “leaning out” of the marriage, while the other is “leaning in.” Both perspectives will be honored and explored.
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
