Are you and your normally close spouse struggling to get along? Are resentments building, free time diminishing, and avoidance (of time together) increasing?
Good news, because there is hope to help your struggling marriage. Marriage Meetings for Lasting Love by Marcia Berger LMFT (New World Library, 2014) provides an on-going answer to married couples growing apart.
This strategy, which involves a set marriage meeting for 30 minutes every week, fosters love, encouragement, teamwork, and (yes even) romance for struggling couples. Couples focus on four specific areas and limit the time they spend discussing issues in order to improve how they relate to each other.
A weekly marriage meeting is a great idea for generally healthy marriages* that need some help or for partners who have lost some of the spark they once felt. This strategy is appropriate for couples who already know how to communicate in a non-blaming and respectful manner. If this describes your marriage, then read through the book with your spouse, and begin to implement the 30 minute weekly marriage meeting. You may be surprised at the positive results!
If you and your partner have trouble communicating, perhaps several sessions with a couples counselor will provide you with the guidance and tools you need to improve your life together. THEN implement weekly marriage meetings for on-going marriage enrichment. Best wishes for a happier life together!
*For marriages in which untreated addictions, abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, financial), or other serious safety/health issues arise, both parties would greatly benefit from seeing individual therapists to address and work to resolve their own issues. Couples counseling is NOT an appropriate answer to these serious issues in a marriage.
