Blog - Discernment Counseling

How Discernment Counseling is Not Coaching

Every time you name something, you’re also implying what it is not. In this video, learn why we saying counseling not therapy but also why we do not say “coaching” to describe this intense type of therapy.

Couples Appreciate and Value Self Learning From Discernment Counseling

Therapists love Discernment Counseling, but what about the participants? In this video we talk briefly again about the goals of this service, and how it is useful to both individuals, even if the marriage ends in divorce.

Why Has The Couples Therapy Field Ignored Couples On The Brink Of Divorce?

If you’re doing regular couples therapy and someone brings up divorce, do not give a little extra empathy and then proceed as usual. The very foundation of the marriage is at stake. Watch the video to learn more.

If Someone In Couples Therapy Brings Up Divorce, Treat It As An Emergency Because It Is

The Number One Reason Couples On The Brink Are Hard

We recently survived our Discernment Counselors and were very pleased to find they report the same results as Bill Doherty. Learn what it is and why it matters that we can help people who are not good candidates for regular couples therapy.

One Spouse Doesn’t Want Therapy But Is In Your Office. What To Do?

We’ve all been there. A couple enters the office for an intake. During the session (or worse, at the end during the final “doorknob blitz” of information), one of the spouses admits they don’t really feel a need for couples therapy. You freeze. This spouse is NOT suggesting divorce. They are simply stating they’re not into this […]

Growing Your Practice With a Specialized Approach to Couples On The Brink

One of the under-discussed realities of our practices is that if we all do the same thing, how does a couple chose which therapist to hire? There are many factors of course, from location, pricing, warmth of your photo, and very occasionally, a client is searching out a particular model. From the perspective of potential clients, […]

Can Couples Therapy Work on Ambivalence Towards the Marriage?

Some therapists feel they’re great couples therapy advocates. They can smoothly and eloquently “sell” their skills and the positive outcomes they’ve seen over the years. This may all be true but for someone not sure they want the marriage, you can bounce along for a few sessions until the reality of where they’re at emotionally […]

A Marriage Isn’t Over Until It’s Over: Research On Divorce Ambivalence

It’s commonly believed that when people enter the legal divorce process, they have come to accept the reality that divorce is inevitable. Even therapist and lawyers tend to assume that once divorce papers are filed, ambivalence about divorcing is over and the only task ahead is to help couples have a constructive end to their […]

Discernment Counseling Networker Article

This is a new Psychotherapy Networker article that best summarizes the place of Discernment Counseling in contemporary culture and in the world of psychotherapy. At the request of the editor, it also deals head on with a morally ambiguous area for many therapists: whether to work vigorously to support the marriage of an on-the-brink couple […]

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