This short article is an introduction to where you might be able to obtain free marriage counseling. Of course, if money is no object, you can and should be looking for the best marriage counselor you can find. Trust me when I say a divorce, especially one where minor children are involved, is worth saving if at all possible. But getting back to free marriage counseling: the cost of marriage counseling - especially for a couple that is fighting about money - can be prohibitive. But that doesn’t mean there’s no help available. There is help out there and this is where to look.
The primary source of free marriage counseling is churches. If the couple was married in a religious service, the best place to start looking for free marriage counseling is by contacting the church in which they were married. Most of these services are delivered on a pay what you can basis. Here are some of the largest groups:
Catholic Family Service is the one of the largest non-governmental family service organizations in the world. In North America Catholic Family Services delivers over twenty thousand hours of free marriage counseling every year. If you were married in the Roman Catholic Church and you are in need of marriage counseling, contact your parish office or simply look in the White Pages.
In the Jewish community Jewish Family Services organizations are established on an as-needed basis and are run entirely from within the local community. Counseling services offered tend to be extensive. As with Catholic Family Services, the organizations identify themselves with the name of the organization followed by, “of …” If you live in Cleveland, for example, simply enter “Jewish Family Services of Cleveland” in any search engine and the correct website will pop up.
Muslim Family Services is a division of ICNA Relief USA, the social welfare department of Islamic Circle of North America. Marriage and pre-marriage counseling services are offered to people of all faiths.
Essentially any religious group recognized as such by the Internal Revenue Service offers pay what you can marriage counseling.
If you and your spouse are not religious, various levels of government, as well as private non-profit social welfare groups, are interested in assisting families in attaining and maintaining stability. To this end, there are any numbers of programs available for families in distress that include martial counseling. In order to receive the free marriage council it is usually necessary for couples to met specific criteria. Program typically have specific mandates; issues like anger management, financial difficulties, child rearing problems or marital difficulties arising out of the stress of raising a special needs child. Take a look at your main issues and see if there isn’t an existing program for that that includes spousal counseling on the issue.
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