Many couples go through challenging times and one or both members can get stuck between deciding to stay married and deciding to end it. Discernment counseling is a short term model to help couples decide which of three paths they want to pursue. They are 1) continue the marriage as it has been, 2) separate/divorce or 3) commit to a 6 month period of commitment to try and save the marriage in couples therapy during which divorce is not an option.

Discernment counseling is short term, between one and five sessions. Preferably, the sessions are weekly. The first session is 2 hours, every session after that is an 90 minutes. Throughout the course of each session we meet both together and separately.

Discernment counseling is ideal for couples who have made lifetime commitments to each other even if they have not been legally married.