A Counselor’s Role In Marriage Education

1. A Counselor’s Role In Marriage Education Jim Burg, PhD burgj@ipfw.edu (260) 481-5406 IPFW

2. The problem with grassroots movements is that they are too often created by the social and academic elite… for those that are not. Paraphrase of Bill Doherty, Ph.D. University of Minnesota

3. The Marriage Education Movement • New, targeted programs for special needs populations • e.g., minorities, low-income, unwed parents, teens, stepfamilies • Blurring of traditional service population into more challenging contexts • e.g., crisis couples, substance abuse, violence

4. National Information Websites • www.healthymarriageinfo.org • National clearing house of information • www.smartmarriages.com • A coalition of marriage educators, counselors, academics, judges, and policy makers • Has an active, national Listserv • National conference in June- exceptional training venue • www.acf.hhs.gov/healthymarriage • Federal agency promoting healthy marriage

5. Community Marriage Initiatives • Life-spanning • teens, premarital, enrichment, empty nest • Eco-systemic • churches, schools, workplace, social services, judges… Laundromat? • Prevention/Enrichment/Remediation

6. Has a diverse board of directors and is in the process of incorporating. • Created the Allen County Healthy Marriage Agreement to bring faith organizations together. • Will host a community-wide signing event on February 15, at the Allen County Library. • www.HealthyMarriageAC.org hmac@healthymarriageac.org

7. A Christian Counselor’s Role? • Be a marriage advocate. • Become a provider of premarital testing/ counseling. • Become trained as marriage educators. • Train or coordinate marriage mentors. • Volunteer time to help couples in need. What else?

8. A Challenge… • To be a great couples therapist you: • Must be well trained in efficacy-based couple’s therapy models such as EFT and Gottman’s Sound Marital House. • Must know at least one marriage education model. • Cannot be “neutral” toward marriage/divorce with undecided couples… you work toward restoration • Say only positive things about your spouse in public- it challenges people’s thinking.

9. About the Speaker James Burg, Ph.D., LMFT, LMHC is an associate professor of Counselor Education; chair, of the Department of Professional Studies; and director of the Counselor Education Program. Dr. Burg is a Clinical Member and Approved Supervisor of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, and is a past-president of the Indiana Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. He is chair of the Marriage and Family Enrichment Focus Group for the National Council on Family Relations. His research interests are in the area of building stronger marriages, and he assisted in the development of Healthy Marriages Sturgis, and Healthy Marriages of Allen County, two community-wide marriage enrichment initiatives. Dr. Burg’s Ph.D. in marriage and family therapy is from Purdue University.