I am Imago Montoya . . .

November 16, 2012 2:13 PM

But which kind of marriage counseling? Also, does insurance ever pay for it?

I'm ready to make an appt with a marriage counselor. My husband's therapist recommended someone who does Imago counseling but, honestly, I'm scared to do that. My husband was diagnosed with bipolar about a year ago and now that that is stable, I'm seeing what his triggers are and I just have a gut feeling that it might be too much for him.

Also, it looks like marriage counseling is usually not covered by insurance but I saw on one site that if one spouse has a diagnosis, it might be.

So my questions:
1) Has anyone here done Imago? If so, how intense was it?
2) Are there any other types of marriage counseling? In other words, should I be looking for a specific type that I think will work well with our personalities (e.g., my husband does better with CBT than he does with talking about his childhood.)?
3) Has anyone had success in getting insurance to pay for it?
4) While we're at it does anyone have recommendations for counselors in middle Tennessee?

I know that every situation/therapist/insurance company is different but I just wondered what your experience might be.

posted by dawkins_7 to Human Relations (5 answers total)

Many insurances do pay for a set number of sessions with counselors credentialed in marriage and family therapy.

"Family systems therapy" is, at least in my area, by far the most common therapeutic modality offered by marriage and family therapists. This is a reasonable overview of the basics of family systems theory.

There are marriage and family therapists who offer treatment based on a CBT approach, so that's something to consider.
posted by Sidhedevil at 2:29 PM on November 16, 2012

My health insurance covers marriage counseling. I get five sessions for free and then there's a $15 copay.
posted by diogenes at 3:54 PM on November 16, 2012

Imago, done well, can be very effective. I'd give it a try.
posted by Obscure Reference at 4:40 PM on November 16, 2012

Best answer: I'm currently studying relationship therapy techniques and agree with the above suggestion about systemic therapy. The approach is very much focused on your interactions now and how you both understand them. Although you may be asked questions about your families of origin (mostly to establish generational patterns) it doesn't delve into unconscious material the same way psychodynamic stuff is designed to do so may be less threatening for you husband. It's also very non-blaming which may appeal.

I'm afraid I know nothing about Imago so can't help you there but I strongly encourage you to follow your gut if you fear it may be harmful. Relationship therapy should be for both of you and you need to feel comfortable too. Good luck whatever you choose and don't forget that you can switch therapists if you're not finding it helpful or if you're just not clicking for any reason.
posted by Dorothia at 3:43 PM on November 17, 2012

Response by poster: Thank you everyone for the feedback. Dorothia - thanks for those details, that's exactly what I needed to know. crossing my fingers!
posted by dawkins_7 at 6:37 PM on November 17, 2012