ResearchResearch Reports

Distressed Relationships: Does Counselling Help?

Kieran McKeown, Trutz Haase, Jonathan Pratschke
for Marriage and Relationship Counselling Services (2004)

Relationships between couples, both married and unmarried, are central to the lives of many, if not most adults. They can be a source of great happiness and fulfilment but they can also be the source of great distress and even illness when they go wrong. Marital conflict, including separation and divorce, are not always negative although they tend to have negative impacts on the health and well-being of couples; where children are involved, they are often adversely affected as well.

The effectiveness of counselling and psychotherapy is of central importance to professionals as much as to their clients since the fundamental belief upon which both enter the therapeutic process is that it can ameliorate distress and difficulties and help couples meet their relationship goals. This report seeks to assess the effectiveness and answer the question does counselling help?

To download the report in .pdf format click below:

Distressed Relationships: Does Counselling Help? (.pdf)