1. Does the therapist style match or align with your needs ? Many people seek marriage counseling for various reasons.

• Issues of infidelity
• Improve communication
• Separation and divorce
• Intimacy issues
• Financial reasons
• Premarital Counseling
• Issues with children
• Extended family problems
• And much more

Finding a therapist that is skilled is very important. Make sure they have the experience and are qualified to practice in the target area you seek therapy.

2. What is their approach to working with Couples? Many therapists work from multiple schools of therapy. I personally use a combination of CBT, narrative, systems therapy, Imago therapy. These are all great approaches to help couples align with themselves and each other.

3. Does your therapist work with you both or individually? This is important to know before you start therapy. Many therapist will only work with the couple. Many will only work with the individual. I combine both. For the initial session I like to see both together. I am able at the first session to see how the communication has broken down. Also I see where the need to treat the clients on an individual basis is. Not every session needs to be done together. There are times when we will need to meet individually to discuss childhood issues and maladaptive patterns of behavior that have been brought into the marriage.

4. Does your therapist give you assignments and things to work on between sessions? I believe this is crucial to the therapy process. Much of the work in therapy will happen between sessions. It is important that you practice the skills learned in session when at home with your partner. This may look like a communication exercise, spending quality time together, discussion daily around a certain topic, etc. You must be willing to put in the work between sessions in order to build or rebuild a healthy bond with your partner.