Mags Gargan
A large number of couples are continuing to present for marriage counselling because of financial problems despite the country entering economic recovery.
According to the latest figures released by ACCORD, the Church’s marriage care service, the number of couples citing financial problems as a reason for attending counselling doubled from 2007 to a peak of 42% in 2012 as the economy turned, and figures have still not returned to pre-recession levels.
The counselling trends data compiled by Amárach also showed that communication problems tend to be predominate among those issues most relevant to ACCORD’S counselling clients with an increase from 48% to 58% over the period 2007-2015. The combined problems related to addiction (alcohol, drugs, gambling) amounted to 24%, use of the internet and phones/texting increased to 17%, counselling clients affected by depression fell to 22% in 2015 and the percentage affected by grief and loss has risen to 33%.
Reacting to the data, Bishop Denis Nulty, President of Accord, said a number of “red line issues stand out for me from these findings”.
“The breakdown of communication continues to be a key problem which leads couples and individuals to need the services and support of ACCORD. We shouldn’t be surprised at this; when a couple stop talking, all they hear is the sound of silence, and this in itself is a huge contributory factor to stress and anxiety in a relationship,” he said.
Support
“I also want to note how damaging criticisms and insults can be in a relationship – they poison a relationship. It is a great support that an agency like ACCORD, set up by the Catholic Church here in Ireland over 50 years ago, is there to support an individual or a couple who experience such problems.”