Every couple goes through different seasons, whether those of ease and plenty or those of struggle and lack. These seasons may be related to the couple’s physical circumstances, but they also may be connected to issues of emotional and mental wholeness. Whatever season a couple may be going through, they can be equipped and ready to face challenges together and emerge stronger than before.

Christian marriage counseling is one tool that a couple can make use of to prepare for unexpected life changes. Seeking counseling for relationships still feels a bit awkward for some people, but there are many benefits to making use of this resource.

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What is Christian Marriage Counseling?

Many people go through life and their relationships without living up to their fullest potential. It may seem easier to simply go through each day and just try to survive. A different approach is to put work to make your relationships the best they can be. Christian marriage counseling is one way to do this as it helps you gain insight into yourself and your marriage, providing you with the opportunity to grow.

Christian couples counseling is a form of counseling for people that are in a committed romantic relationship and want to strengthen that relationship as well as overcome challenges. It is available for married couples and other couples that are committed to one another, for example, an engaged couple that is on the road to marriage.

As the name implies, Christian marriage counseling is a cognitive behavioral-based counseling that incorporates psychotherapy with Christian beliefs and practices. Accordingly, if you reach out to a Christian couples counselor, it is with the understanding that they will ground their approach in the Christian worldview and make use of resources such as the Bible and prayer.

Christian marriage counseling in Allen, Texas is typically facilitated by a Christian therapist or pastoral counselor, and this works in the same way as in individual Christian counseling. A couple will see the counselor for sessions that last about an hour. These last for several weeks as they work through whatever concerns brought them to counseling.

It is up to the couple to decide if and when they want to go for counseling. The stigma around going for counseling has thankfully decreased over the last few decades, but couples often still face struggles with the decision to get help.

A couple may be concerned about keeping their issues private, or they may feel like going for counseling says that their relationship is in serious trouble. Because there’s a mistaken idea that counseling is the last stop before splitting up, couples may decide to delay going for counseling, leaving it as the absolute last resort.

It is better for a couple to seek help sooner than later. The hurt and wreckage that can result from unhealthy patterns of relating to one another are harder to disentangle and correct the longer it goes on. Christian marriage counseling at Allen Christian Counseling uses relational techniques that help enhance communication, deepen respect, foster consideration, and strengthen commitment in the relationship while cultivating individual spiritual growth and love for the Lord.

To determine whether you need to go for counseling, you can ask yourself a few questions:

  • Does one of you want to go for counseling?
  • Do you have the same fights over the same things, without finding a lasting resolution?
  • Are you about to make a big life change like getting married or starting to have children?
  • Do you feel alone or like you’re drifting apart in the relationship?
  • Do you feel like there’s little goodwill left in the relationship, and you’re thinking to end the relationship?
  • Do you pretend like everything is fine in your relationship?
  • Do you feel like your relationship could be more or better than it is now?
  • Do you feel like you’re not on the same page about important issues such as sex, money, or parenting?
  • Are either of you thinking about, or have either of you had an affair?
  • Do you want to have a healthy relationship?

If you answer yes to one or more of these questions, then you should strongly consider going for counseling. Counseling will help you address a wide range of issues that affect the flourishing of your relationship, including the following:

  • Addressing issues of sexual intimacy in the marriage
  • Helping you set goals as a couple
  • Resolving conflict and working through your differences in a healthy way
  • Growing together in your faith
  • Dealing with anger and resentment in the relationship
  • Growing in your ability to communicate effectively
  • Forgiveness
  • Overcoming infidelity
  • Negotiating issues around money and family responsibilities

Any relationship can benefit from addressing these common issues that affect couples.

The Benefits of Christian Marriage Counseling

Going for counseling requires commitment. It takes time, money, and concerted effort as you do the exercises and learn new ways to be in your relationship. There are many benefits of pursuing couples counseling to strengthen your relationship. Christian couples counseling is effective, and it helps couples overcome the challenges discussed above.

Some of the benefits of going for Christian couples counseling include:

The Help of a Highly Skilled Third Party

Some couples prefer to go for counseling with a pastor. Depending on their training, the pastor will likely be highly skilled in theology and will bring that theological insight to bear on your situation. Many pastors and members of the clergy have some knowledge about behavioral and emotional health, which enables them to address concerns effectively.

Counselors and therapists have training in psychotherapy, which leans more toward a psychological approach to counseling. Therapy with a Christian counselor or therapist incorporates Christian beliefs and practices with the psychological approach to therapy.

Whichever option you and your significant other choose, you’ll have the perspective of a skilled, neutral third party at your disposal. Having an objective outsider look at things can help you see your relationship anew. You can understand yourselves and your relationship better, and they may help you see solutions to issues you may have overlooked.

Gain Insight into Your Relationship

One of the main reasons to go for therapy is to understand them self and their relationship better. Often, people do things without understanding why they do them, or without knowing a different way to be. Counseling helps to cultivate insight into these dynamics so that you can understand why you say the things you do and act how you do, as well as the impact of these words and actions on others.

Understand God’s Design for Relationships

Christian couples counseling will draw on the Bible to help you understand how God designed human beings and His design for our relationships. Understanding the purpose of marriage, how sex works best, and what it looks like to love and honor one another in relationships helps us cultivate our relationships to their fullest potential.

Nip Issues in The Bud, Resolve Long-Standing Problems

A counselor can help a couple cultivate the tools they need to address long-standing issues as well as identify new issues before they crop up and cause problems in the relationship. Effective couples counseling thus helps you gain tools and skills to handle issues now and in the future.

Get connected with a Christian Counselor
Please contact our reception team at
(469) 943-2459

Schedule an appointment

Develop Deeper Mutual Understanding, Intimacy, and Trust

There’s nothing quite like a happy and fulfilled relationship. God made us social and relational beings in His image. That’s probably one reason why having thriving relationships is important to us, and a huge blessing as well. A romantic relationship in which you feel understood, known, and loved is deeply fulfilling, and couples counseling can help a couple cultivate those things. 

Finding the Right Counselor for You

Deciding to go for counseling is an important choice that will benefit your relationship in many ways. Part of that decision is whether or not you would prefer marriage counseling that incorporates Christian insight and that addresses your faith.

If you and your partner decide to go for Christian couples counseling, you should search for a Christian counselor who conducts counseling sessions that are centered on building relational character strengths such as honesty, compassion, and consideration that are based on a Biblical and spiritual foundation.

You can choose to do your counseling sessions with a pastor or a mental health professional such as a counselor, with the understanding that they bring different expertise and emphases to the table. You can ask your prospective counselor questions such as how they will integrate Christian faith into the sessions, and you can ask about the cost of the sessions as well.

You and your partner can meet with them, asking these and other questions so that you can decide if you can work with them. After all, counseling only works if there is an environment of trust.

Through your counseling sessions, you will explore your life choices, discover the dynamics of your relationship, and grow in making wise, informed decisions that are based on Biblical wisdom and the best practices of psychotherapy. The process may be challenging, but it will enrich your relationship in many ways. If you want to address specific issues or cultivate a richer relationship, reach out and connect with a Christian marriage counselor in Allen, Texas today.

Get connected with a Christian Counselor
Please contact our reception team at
(469) 943-2459

Schedule an appointment