Marriage Counselling

[jules11]

So many people suggest marriage counselling on these forums as a way of working through problems but what if there are no reputable counsellors in your city? I cannot find one that holds Christian values, that would want to keep marriages together, no matter how big problems are. We are sadly lacking any trustworthy counsellors here in South Australia. Even the Catholic church (Centacare, as it’s called) has people that my priest would suggest we NOT go to!
It seems to be that if I want to get serious ongoing help, I would need to move!
My husband and I have been to a few which were no help at all, in fact, they made things worse and I know that if I get one more counsellor does not help us, he will never go again!
What do I do???
Please remember us in your prayers??

 

[smallcat]

Do you have access to Retrouvaille nearby? Retrouvaille is a weekend program for hurting marriages. It is often advertised as for those who are on the brink of divorce, and while it has been a lifesaver for many such couples, it is also of great benefit to couples undergoing smaller stresses, those who may not be considering divorce but still have problems. I would highly, highly recommend it. While they stress that this is NOT a counseling program-- no one will sit down with you and discuss your individual situation-- nor is it a replacement for one, they will teach you techniques for communicating with your spouse more effectively. After the weekend, there are 6 post-sessions in which you discuss specific areas (eg money, sex, trust, forgiveness) more in-depth and learn tools for discussing-- and making decisions about-- conflict areas. My DH and I went through 8 months of counseling before going to Retrouvaille, and while we had a good, Christian counselor, I can honestly say that our Retrouvaille weekend did more to strengthen our marriage than all of that counseling.

Their website is www.retrouvaille.org. I noticed that they have two dates listed for Sydney (not sure how far from you this is): March 24 and August 4.

Please feel free to PM me if you have any detailed questions. I cannot recommend this program highly enough!