Do you really know if you want to terminate your marriage? How can “Discernment Counseling” and a “Discernment Counselor” help you and your spouse?
While most clients who take the step to schedule an initial consultation with a “family divorce lawyer” know that either they or their spouse have unequivocally decided to end their marriage, there are individuals who candidly admit that they “do not know” and/or their spouse “does not know.”
And, many go forward with marriage termination because they do not have a trained professional counselor to guide them in their decision-making. A significant percentage of individuals who are divorced look back and regret getting divorced. Some research shows that as many as 50% wished they had worked harder to resolve their marital differences that led to the divorce, and a significant percentage expressed regret one year past the divorce.
Many of these individuals may have had no one to help them in their decision-making process and consequently they moved forward with divorce because they believed they had no option and their present circumstances were not sustainable.
If you and/or your spouse does not know if you want to end the marriage, discernment counseling may be your best immediate path. This is a structured, short- term protocol to help couples get clarity in the decision-making about their future—based on an understanding of what has happened and each spouse’s contribution to the problem(s), and if and how change can occur.
There are three paths forward: 1) stay the course and do nothing, 2) separate or end the marriage, and, or 3) make a 6- month commitment to couples’ therapy with divorce off the table during this 6- month period of time.
Discernment counseling is provided by counselors who are trained in discernment counseling and are most often recommended by collaborative attorneys who are aware of this and, where appropriate, recommend to clients those counselors trained in discernment counseling BEFORE proceeding with the collaborative divorce process or indeed any divorce process.
For more information or to schedule a consultation call (614) 765-0423. Our office is located at 5900 Sawmill Road, Suite 120, Dublin, OH 43017.