Michael Roberson
Liberty University
Abstract
The institution of marriage is recognized by the U.S. Constitution as a civil right, and the freedom to marry has been established as one of the individual rights which are a component of each Americans pursuit of happiness. However, in contrast to 1960, when 72 percent of those 18 or older were married, today less than 51 percent of persons in the U.S. are married (Cohn, Passel, Wang, & Livingston, 2011). The Pew Report (2010) defined married persons as married adults ages 18 and older with spouse present or absent excluding separated couples. In light of the fact that most analytical data on married couples determined the divorce rate to be at least 50% for both Christian and secular marriages, the premise of this paper is that family psychotherapy when implemented professionally is a viable means for relationship satisfaction. Furthermore, psychotherapy can provide service to children as products of divorce, diverse family structures, and implement best practice models for relationship disputes. This report will also examine the systems theory which views psychological problems as stemming from internal environmental factors combined with inter-generational family systems. According to Hook and Worthington (2009), 82% of American adults identify themselves as Christian, and most adults are married or in a committed couple relationship. Therefore, the current decline of married couples along with the influx of divorces may be attributed to a lack of knowledge regarding family systems theory, spiritual foundations for marriage, and family therapy benefits.
Research Paper: Marriage Couple and Family Counseling
During the last three decades America has witnessed diverse changes to the definition of marriage, and the family structure has been evolving simultaneously. In the book titled The Popular Encyclopedia of Christian Counseling (Clinton
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