New figures released from Accord
Catholic marriage care service show that communications problems tend to
predominate among issues most relevant to the couples counselled by
Accord in 2016, according to figures released yesterday.
Accord counselling figures also show a link between economic performance and numbers accessing its counselling services.
In 2007, the last year of the
boom, 5,380 people received 31,726 counselling sessions.
The numbers
started rising as the economy crashed, peaking at 6,462 people who
received 42,191 counselling sessions in 2012.
At the same time the
number of couples citing financial difficulties as a cause of problems
in their marriage almost doubled from 22 per cent in 2007 to 42 per cent
in 2012.
As the economy is improving the numbers seeking counselling
have returned almost to pre-economic crash levels with 5,523 couples
accessing 30,666 hours of counselling in 2016.
Money worries still
continue to be a factor for those who seek counselling with 38 per cent
of those who accessed Accord counselling services last year citing it as
a factor in their marriage.
Speaking at the launch of the 2016
Accord counselling figures, Mary Johnston, a specialist in counselling
with Accord said that “financial difficulties cannot only be a stress
factor in themselves, but can exasperate conflicts in a marriage over
other issues such as child-care, communication and fertility.”
She said that Accord counsellors
advise couples to confront their financial problems by seeking out the
help of agencies such as the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS).
The counselling figures for 2016
were launched on Saint Valentine’s Day by Bishop Denis Nulty, President
of Accord Catholic Marriage Care Service, at the Shrine of St Valentine
in Whitefriar Street Church, Dublin City.
Bishop Nulty spoke about the
disruptive influence that the internet can have on marriages and on
family life.
He said, “Sadly technology can cause huge damage to
relationships (19% of Accord clients cite internet use as a problem,
while 23% cite mobile phone and texting as a presenting problem in
counselling).
Years ago the text, the tweet, the Snapchat app,
Instagram, Whatsapp were not even considerations in counselling, but
today they contribute hugely to the fractured narrative that unfolds in
many counselling sessions.
What was said in that tweet; the picture
that was shared on social media; the reactive immediate response on
Snapchat can do enormous damage to a relationship, to trust and to the
individual themselves. ACCORD is not there to judge, but to gently move
the relationship and the conversation to a less threatening and tense
space.”
As part of the launch of the
Accord figures, Bishop Nulty blessed engaged couple Carol Dignam from
Kilcock, Co Kildare, and Tim Boylan from Foxrock, Co Dublin at the
shrine.
For more information on Accord’s counselling services see www.accord.ie.