If you and your spouse are experiencing significant marital challenges, you may be considering attending couples therapy. Couples therapy can be a very beneficial experience for you and/or your spouse. However, it is important to understand that simply because you are attending couples therapy, your marriage may still end in divorce.
How can attending couples therapy fail to “save” your marriage? To understand the answer to this question, it is important to explore the purpose of couples therapy. The purpose of couples therapy is arguably to allow you and your spouse to communicate about your issues. Sometimes honest, healthy communication ends in a strengthening of one’s union. However, sometimes this kind of communication reveals that divorce is the healthiest option available.
Attending couples therapy may be one of the best things you can do on behalf of your marriage and your personal wellbeing. It may allow you to see your marital issues with new clarity. This clarity may then allow you to view all your options in a more objective light. Similarly, should you decide to speak with an experienced divorce attorney during this time of exploration, you may be able to see all of your options more clearly and more completely.
Meeting with an experienced family law attorney does not obligate you to take any particular course of action, just as attending couples therapy does not obligate you to either continue your marriage or end it. However, both of these experiences may allow you to make more informed decisions about your future. That way, if your marriage is coming to an end, you can feel at peace about your decision and you can be prepared from a legal and practical standpoints.
Source: The Huffington Post, “The Benefits of Couples’ Therapy – Even if You Get Divorced,” Jonathan Weiler and Anne J. Menkens, Nov. 11, 2015
