Getting More Help

This book describes strategies and skills we teach in our workshops for couples. We make the point in our workshops that there are many situations in which people need a lot more help than we are able to provide in our workshops. The same is true for this new edition of Fighting for Your Marriage. Here we are hoping to teach you skills and principles that can help you build strong and healthy marriages and couple or family relationships. However, it is not designed to address serious relationship and individual problems.

Because you are taking this time to think more about your life and relationships, it may also be a good time to think about other services that you or others you care about may need. Even if your main goal right now is to improve your marriage or relationship, difficulties in other areas can make it that much harder to make your relationship work. Likewise, if you are having really severe problems in your relationship, they can make dealing with any of these other problems that much harder.

Here are some areas where seeking additional help could be really important for you and your family.

Financial Problems

Serious Marital or Other Family Problems or Stresses

Substance Abuse, Addictions, and Other Compulsive Behaviors

You need to decide to get help with these problems to improve your life and the lives of those you love. It will make it easier if your partner or spouse supports this decision.

Mental Health Problems

The good news is that there are now many effective treatments for mental health problems, with services available in all counties, including options for those with limited means of paying.

Domestic Aggression and Violence

The bottom line is that you must do what you need to do to ensure that you and your children are safe. If you ever feel that you are in immediate danger from your partner or others, call 911 for help or contact your local domestic violence hotline.

Where to Get More Help

If you, your partner, or your relationship experiences any of these special problems, we strongly recommend that you get more help.

There are many ways to find out about resources in your community. You can ask a therapist in your community for help or contact a local counseling center or a community mental health center. Also, members of the clergy and family physicians are usually well aware of resources for various needs in their communities, so consider asking them for suggestions.

There are community mental health centers in all areas of the United States. Other counseling centers and mental health professionals are often available as well (both nonreligious and religious).

The following are some national hotline numbers and a Web site that may be useful to some readers:

National Resources

Domestic violence hotline: SAFELINE, 1-800-799-7233
Web site with links for help with substance abuse and mental health issues: www.samhsa.gov/public/look_frame.html
Hotline for referrals to substance abuse treatment: 1-800-662-HELP
Suicide prevention hotline: National Hopeline Network, 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433)