I had the following conversation with a potential client recently. They were interested in marriage and stepfamily counseling and saw the need for doing something very different. However, when it came to the fee they were a bit taken aback by the perceived cost, "That's a lot more than I expected." I responded, in part, as follows...

What better wedding gift to give each other than to commit to enhancing your marriage by learning skills that will continue throughout the years to reinforce your love for each other? Couples want to give the best gifts: the gifts of knowledge, commitment, appreciation, communication and time together. However, as many a parent and grandparent are aware, many newly married couples do not have the skills and tools to take the love that initially led to their decision to marry into the long-haul daily practice of creating, maintaining and improving a lasting marriage.

I had an interesting discussion with a good friend the other night. His short temper was taking its toll on him, his wife and children. He had decided he was going to go see a therapist to help him learn to manage his stress and anger more constructively. We got talking about the cost of therapy....