Getting to the Heart of the Matter in Marriage Counseling

In this article, Leslie Vernick examines an extended case study of marital conflict that looks at the particular “ungodly issues of the heart that underlie wrong behavior patterns.” Vernick illustrates both counseling content (e.g., the relation between behavior and motive) and counseling methods (choices the counselor must make during the flow of conversation). In this particular case study, the husband’s insistent craving for affection and the wife’s perfectionism stood in the way of loving, constructive conversation. Vernick shows that both partners needed to die to self in practical ways, and to learn the love of Christ.