Often one partner is more willing and more motivated to participate in marriage therapy than the other.
The good news is that this does not necessarily have to be deal-breaker.
We have seen many marriages greatly improve with only one partner actively working to change and turn things around.
In this scenario, what often happens Is hat your partner sees you are trying, so in response they make some changes even though they are not in therapy themselves.
A good example of this is in the problem area of anger management. Often the partner of the angry spouse will say something like ‘You get your anger problem handled, and I’ll consider getting back with you- but not until that happens.’
So, you do the work, and then invite your partner to join you in couples therapy.
The bottom line is if you really want to improve your marriage- for yourself, for the sake of your children, for financial reasons, or whatever, rather than demanding that your partner change, start by making some personal change first and see what happens.
Sometimes it really really makes a difference!