Marriage Coaching vs. Marital Counseling

It is important to understand the difference in marriage counseling and marriage coaching.

Marriage coaching is more relational and personalized. Marriage Coaches may have formal educational experiences, but he/she relies on years of personal experience. Coaches are flexible in meeting times and locations. Instead of meeting in a formal office, coaches can meet in houses, coffee shops, online, etc. They make a strong effort to get to know you personally and your specific marital issues instead of labeling you into a general group of couples who have marriage problems.

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Marriage counseling is often more formal, more intensive and clinical. Marriage counselors have formal education experience in related topics such as marital and family therapy, psychology, social work, etc. Marriage counseling occurs in a formal office and has a regular meeting schedule. It is often seen as a more intensive treatment to a marriage because it deals with mending relationships after an event or occurrence (although coaching can do that as well). Marriage counselors have formal education and certification and are able to treat problems with mental health and provide clinical solutions to the problems.

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Both marital coaching and counseling are valuable resources and can be utilized simultaneously if necessary. Some couples may prefer to get professional help with a full-time counselor and dive into past hurts by digging up baggage and old wounds while discovering clinical aspects of the relationship.

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However, others like the personalization and more laid-back process of coaching through developing goals, focusing on what's happening in the present moment rather than focusing on the past, moving forward instead of reliving painful moments, and the attention to solution-focused and problem-solving methods.