Let’s say you’ve decided to work on your romantic relationship or marriage and you want outside help. What do you look for? Here is Part 1 of the questions that I believe are important in assessing any marriage or couples therapist:

1. Are they specifically trained and credentialed to work with couples and relationships?

In addition to whatever licensure/certification requirements your State may have, you also want to find out if they have any specific training or certifications in working with couples.  I teach graduate courses in marriage and family therapy in California, and can tell you that many graduate schools will give a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy while only having one or two specific classes on the subject in their curriculum.  And, you can become a licensed psychotherapist in California without ever having had to treat a single couple!

Seek out additional, post-graduate training in couples counseling in your therapist.  For example, in addition to being licensed in California as a Clinical Psychologist, I have completed and been Certified in Imago Relationship Therapy, one very effective form of couples therapy.  The Imago Certification Program is a rigorous one with which takes a minimum of one year post-licensure to complete and includes training and supervision.

2. How long have they been working with couples?

As a rule, the more experienced a psychotherapist, the better opportunity you will have to achieve your results in marriage therapy.  I know that there are exceptions to this rule and I have trained some interns who are far superior to many licensed professionals I know. However, what I was capable of dealing with as a couples counselor when I first began my training in 1991 is vastly different than what I am able to work with now.  It is my hope that a good therapist will continue to learn, grow and improve over the time that they practice.  That’s why they call it Practice!

Part 2 of “What To Look For In A Good Marriage Counselor” is now available on this blog. You may access it below:

Click here for Part 2 of “What To Look For In A Good Marriage Counselor”

Thank you,

Dr. Adam Sheck

Please, please, PLEASE share this information with anyone that you feel would benefit from it. It is so vital for people that are courageous enough to enter psychotherapy actually have a good first experience!