The person who will save your marriage is closer than you may have realized. The most significant study ever conducted on marriage and relationship education, at an estimated cost of $100 million, reveals who can save our marriages and who can't.
This month, more than a hundred federally funded relationship and marriage education programs offered nationwide began their fifth, and possibly, final year. Evidence-based programs available across the country and online deliver powerful, practical skills that are making a lasting difference to many couples, families and their children.
As the annual SmartMarriages conference begins in Orlando, a Psychology Today article takes aim at proponents of marriage education for focusing on selling classes instead of research. Ensuring marriage education programs have a proven track record of positive impact is vital to gaining trust and broader acceptance from the public and professionals.
Amidst stories of Larry King’s pending eighth divorce, should the King of Talk's marriage license be revoked? "How many marriages are too many," Belinda Luscombe asks? A co-worker suggests a weekend marriage education class. Now that would be something to talk about.
Going to a marriage therapist may be one of the worst decisions a couple can make for their relationship. For many, it’s the beginning of an expensive, time-consuming journey that often contributes to divorce. Through incompetence, neutrality, pathologizing, and undermining relationships, therapists can actually harm marriages and lead couples rapidly down the road to divorce. Consider asking these important questions before deciding if marriage therapy is right for you. As an alternative to marriage therapy, many couples have found marriage education far more effective.
