Discernment Counseling
Is Discernment Counseling for us?
If you or your spouse are considering divorce but are not completely sure that’s the best path, you are in a tough spot. And Discernment Counseling is designed for you. It’s a chance to slowdown, take a breath, and look at your options for your marriage.
Discernment Counseling is a new way of helping couples where one person is “leaning out” of the relationship and not sure that regular marriage counseling would help--and the other is "leaning in”—that is, interested in rebuilding the marriage.
The counselor will help you decide whether to try to restore your marriage to health, move toward divorce, or take a time out and decide later.
The goal is for you to gain clarity and confidence about a direction, based on a deeper understanding of your relationship and its possibilities for the future.
The goal is not to solve your marital problems but to see if they are solvable. You will each be treated with compassion and respect no matter how you are feeling about your marriage at the moment. No bad guys and good guys.
You will come in as a couple but the most important work occurs in the one-to-one conversations with the counselor. Why? Because you are starting out in different places.
The counselor respects your reasons for divorce while trying to open up the possibility of restoring the marriage to health.
The counselor emphasizes the importance of each of you seeing your own contributions to the problems and the possible solutions. This will be useful in future relationships even if this one ends.
Number of Sessions: A maximum of 5 counseling sessions. The first session is usually 2 hours and the subsequent are 1.5 or 2 hours.
Discernment Counseling is not suited for these situations:
-
When one spouse has already made a final decision to divorce
-
When one spouse is coercing the other to participate
-
When there is danger of domestic violence
FAQ's:
Is this couple's counseling?
No, we will not be trying to fix your relationship, we will be trying to decide if you want to fit it.
How many sessions does this take?
This is a brief (1-5 sessions), structured process that will assist you in looking at what happened in the relationship, identifying each person's contribution and work to discern whether to keep things status quo, separate, or commit to working on the marriage in couple's counseling. At the end of each session both partners will either commit to an additional session or not.
How much will this cost?
The initial 2-hour session will be $375, following 1-4 sessions will typically be 1.5-hours and cost $300 each session.
Is DC covered by insurance?
No, you will not be able to use your insurance for discernment counseling sessions.
What if my partner has already filed for divorce?
We need for both parties to be willing to consider looking at saving the relationship. If one party has already decided they are definite about wanting a divorce this is not the process for you. If this is the case and you are hoping to keep things civil, I would highly recommend looking into Collaborative Divorce. I am happy to provide referrals.
How do we begin?
You can schedule a free 15-minute Initial Consultation HERE. This brief meeting allows us to discuss your situation, answer questions, and determine whether Discernment Counseling is the right fit.
Can we do our consultation call together?
No. Separate calls enable each partner to accurately convey their level of commitment and readiness for Discernment Counseling. Please make certain you will have full privacy with no interruptions for the duration of your call.