Creating a happy and fulfilling marriage has always been something that takes time and effort. In today’s stressful times, this is all the more true. Relationships are under a lot of pressure, and regrettably, few of us get a good relationship education when we’re young.
Fortunately, you can still get the help and guidance you need. Marriage counseling has helped many people improve, repair, or save their marriage. There are numerous evidence-based approaches to marriage counseling, and (at least in urban areas like here in Baltimore) you have plenty of options of therapists to choose from.
For those in more rural areas, telehealth is a fine option and doesn’t require the “near me” part of the equation!
How to Find a Marriage Counselor Near You: 4 Quick Tips
So how do you go about finding a marriage counselor near you?
The short answer is you can ask folks you know and trust or use the internet to search for something as simple as “marriage counselor near me.”
Of course, you’ve already found a practice that has marriage counselors ready to help! You can just contact us here to get that going.
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The long answer? Let’s break it down into bits:
Tip #1 – Ask your friends and family
You may think none of your friends or relatives have been to couples counseling, but you’d be surprised to find out that that may not be the case. Nearly half of married couples go to counseling at some point in their relationship. That means that the odds are someone you know has been to couples counseling are pretty good!
The truth is that people often don’t like to share the personal details of their relationship in this way, but if you have a trusted friend or family member you can ask, they’ll likely be willing to help you out and let you know if they have a recommendation for a marriage counselor. Maybe they really liked the person they met with, or maybe they did not at all and will warn you to steer clear!
Note that while a recommendation from a friend can be a great option, no two people and no two relationships are the same. What might have been a good fit for your friend isn’t necessarily going to be a good fit for you. That said, a solid recommendation is a good place to start, and no matter how you find a marriage counselor near you, the only way to know for sure if that person will be a good fit for you is to try a session or two and see how you feel.
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Tip #2 – Ask other trusted people you know
Who else in your circles can you ask for a recommendation? If there is someone in your life acting as a guide or mentor, that person can be a very helpful source of this kind of information.
Think of a teacher or professor, an academic advisor, a clergyperson, a coworker or supervisor, a godparent or family friend, or a doctor. And if you have an individual therapist or coach already, they’re likely to have connections to other therapists they’ve worked with in the past.
Of course, the same thing applies here, as we mentioned above: just because someone knows a good therapist does not mean it will be a good therapist for you. On the other hand, an advisor or a therapist who knows you well might be able to recommend someone they specifically think would be a good fit for you based on their knowledge of who you are and what you need.
Tip #3 – Google it
What do you do when you’re trying to find any other service provider? You Google it! The same strategy is perfectly applicable here. It’s worth noting that the therapists that pop up on the top of the search results are not necessarily the best therapists – they’re probably just the best marketers! (Note: this doesn’t apply to us. We may be doing a decent job marketing, but we’re also the best therapists!)
Likewise, you may find some reviews on a particular therapist, and you may not. Ethical codes prevent therapists from actively seeking reviews from clients, making it challenging to build meaningful reviews. Additionally, the people who tend to write the most reviews are the disgruntled ones who had a bad experience, so take anything you read in the reviews with a grain of salt.
Reviews may well give you an indication of the quality of the therapist or practice, but I wouldn’t recommend relying on those exclusively.
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Tip #4 – Check out therapist directories
Nowadays, there are a whole lot of these out there. They list therapists by location and issues they treat (in this case, we’re looking for marriage counseling, near you), but also by gender, cost, ethnicity, religion, and more.
If any of these criteria are very important to you, this can be a helpful way to find the right therapist. It’s perfectly legitimate to feel more comfortable with a female counselor than a male one, for example, or to want someone from your own ethnic or religious background.
Directories can provide assistance, but they typically lack reviews, and privacy concerns may also arise at times. (These are, after all, businesses looking to make a profit, and if they can do that by selling your information, sometimes that’s what they’ll do.) So some therapists stay off of them (and no therapist can be on every single one); if you are concerned about where your information is going, you may want to as well.
Directories are one tool of many worth trying but not putting all your eggs in.
Tip #5 – Stop Looking – You’ve Found Us!
If you’ve landed here after searching “marriage counselor near me,” you may have found just what you’re looking for! We have some skilled marital therapists on staff, including folks who specialize in infidelity, fertility issues, racial issues, and more.
If you think we might be the place for you, reach out today for a free consultation! If you’re not actually in Maryland or are looking to use your insurance (which we don’t accept for a variety of reasons), or if you want a specific kind of marriage counselor we don’t have here, definitely try the approaches listed above.
And if you have any other ideas to share, please share them with our content form below! Remember, things can be different.