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Liza Johnston, APC, NCC, MS • 404-757-3250
Discernment Counseling is a type of work with couples that I do that helps couples find the intensity to make a decision, specifically the decision to divorce/separate, maintain their marriage status quo, or work on their relationship.
Sometimes in partnerships, one partner wants to end the relationship, and one partner wants to keep the relationship going. Discernment counseling consists of one to five sessions of therapy where we aren’t working on change, but we are working on finding clarity, the clarity to move in one direction or the other. Clients also benefit from learning more about their own contributions to their current status quo.
Discernment counseling can be a vital step in doing the hard work of improving or ending a relationship with a full understanding of our own involvement and where we want to change in the future of this relationship or the next one to come. Focusing on our decision to end the relationship or beginning to work on rebuilding the connection (which can include couples therapy) helps us peel away layers to implement change within ourselves. It helps us support ourselves and our partner in whichever path we choose for the future.