Remarriage and the Unique Concepts of Couples Therapy

In the United States, many single adults are expected to remarry. For some, there may be one opportunity to remarry while, for others, the remarriage may be a third or fourth time. If you are considering remarriage, you are not alone. With over 60 percent of all divorced individuals remarrying at some point in their lives, remarriage, and the creation of stepfamilies, is increasingly more common.

Unfortunately, with the increasing opportunities for remarriage, many second marriages also end in divorce, most within four years of the wedding date. As a result, many couples are finding they may desire co-habitation or simply dating without ever attempting to remarry, especially for a third or fourth time.

If you are considering remarriage, it is important to understand that your second marriage may experience demise just as your first, and often this demise occurs must quicker than the first marriage. As a result, your subsequent marriage may require the use of couples therapy in an effort to last longer and become more successful than your prior marriage.

Couples therapy for remarriage is quite common in the United States. Unfortunately, for many remarried couples, the couples therapy often occurs after the remarriage takes place and when complications begin to arise. Because many complications of remarriage stem from the relationships of step children to step parents, the use of couples therapy works to provide communication and strategies in managing children from a prior marriage.

To compound the need for couples therapy, the dynamics and social acceptance of gay, lesbian, biracial marriages and civil unions have created a need for a unique type of couples therapy. Again, because complications usually arise after the wedded bliss, or the civil union, couples often need couples therapy to manage through the complications of not only their interpersonal relationship but also the issues that face them from a societal aspect.

As a marriage or couples counselor, or therapist, it is important to understand your evolving role in managing the unique relationships of the 21^st century. With many remarriages ending in divorce, and some individuals remarrying multiple times, this poses a unique opportunity to modify traditional counseling protocols. In addition, in families where gay, lesbian or biracial relationships are forged, couples counseling must focus on not only the familial dynamics but also upon the issues facing the couple from a societal view. Understanding these unique needs for approach may provide for a better outcome to therapy for both you and your clients.