Prevention Work: A Professional Responsibility for Marriage and Family Counselors

Abstract

Although ethical codes encourage marriage and family counselors to undertake prevention work, many practitioners do not include prevention within the scope of their practice. Prevention work includes a number of professional functions that address multiple family issues. Within a developmental framework, marriage and family counselors can bring a unique set of skills and experience to preventive work, and a family systems theoretical orientation helps to inform the practice of preventive efforts designed to enhance familial relationships. Marriage and family counselors can be involved in the practice, theory development, and research of prevention work. Effective prevention work by marriage and family counselors incorporates a consideration of barriers to effective prevention work, professional collaboration, and ethical considerations.

Perceptions and Experiences of Marriage Preparation Among U.S. Muslims: Multiple Voices from the Community

“…Premarital education programs can help Muslim couples to reconcile family expectations about a future spouse and about the courtship process, while setting boundaries for the couple's own decision‐making. We also observed that cultural and family attitudes can discourage couples from participating in marriage preparation (Murray, ). We recommend that community education efforts focus on teaching families about the benefits of marriage preparation.…”

“…This is also in line with what is observed in the larger U.S. population. Most American couples do not participate in marriage preparation (Glenn, 2005;Silliman & Schumm, 2000;Stanley & Markman, 1997), and if they do, it is usually provided by clergy (Glenn, 2005;Murray, 2005) through a religious institution (Glenn, 2005), instead of a marriage counselor. It is well known that clergy often serve as frontline mental health providers, usually approached first for assistance with personal problems and marriage and family issues (Weaver, 1995;Weaver, Flannelly, Flannelly, & Oppenheimer, 2003).…”

“…Most couples who do seek premarital education, do so through a religious institution (Glenn, 2005). Thus, clergy tend to be the majority of providers of premarital education in the United States (Glenn, 2005;Murray, 2005), although there is a wide range in the number and content (Schumm et al, 2010;Williams, 2007) and quality and helpfulness of their sessions (Schumm et al, 2010).…”

Influence of a Statewide Marriage Initiative on Clergy Involvement in Marriage Preparation

“…In response, a number of state governments developed programs to strengthen marriages through public-funded interventions (Brotherson & Duncan, 2004;Public Law 109-171, Section 7103, 2006). Given that the vast majority of marriage preparation is provided in a religious context (Hart, 2003), many of these funded programs directly or indirectly involve clergy participation (Doherty & Anderson, 2004;Johnson et al, 2002;Murray, 2005), thus necessitating an evaluation of these efforts. This study focuses on the influence of a statewide initiative on clergy attitudes and behaviors related to marriage preparation, specifically the use of the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP; Stanley, Blumberg, & Markman, 1999), adoption of practices outlined in the Oklahoma Marriage Covenant, attitudes toward marriage preparation, and awareness of a healthy marriage initiative.…”

The Effectiveness of Premarital Counseling Service on the Harmony of Marriage in Family Resilience

“…Dealing with this issue, Murray (2005) elaborate the need for marriage and family counselors to undertake prevention. Premarital counseling is a widely implemented prevention activity that is aimed at enhancing marital relationships.…”