The New York Times > Health > Mental Health & Behavior > Married With Problems? Therapy May Not Help: “Does marital therapy work? Not nearly as well as it should, researchers say. Two years after ending counseling, studies find, 25 percent of couples are worse off than they were when they started, and after four years, up to 38 percent are divorced.

Many of the counseling strategies used today, like teaching people to listen and communicate better and to behave in more positive ways, can help couples for up to a year, say social scientists who have analyzed the effectiveness of different treatments. But they are insufficient to get couples through the squalls of conflict that inevitably recur in the long term.

At the same time, experts say, many therapists lack the skills to work with couples who are in serious trouble.”

The article does have some very hopeful things to say, suggesting marriage education rather than couple’s therapy may be the most useful course. Do read all the way to the end.