When you find the person with whom you want to spend the rest of your life, it’s a wonderful thing. But that doesn’t mean that marriage is easy. On the contrary, it can take a lot of work, and it might mean finding a marriage counselor to help.

Above all, the best advice on relationships to bear in mind is to keep the lines of communication open at all times. Rather than alienating yourself from your spouse, you should seek to empathize with their concerns and understand their perspectives. Following these kinds of self help tools can go a long way toward preserving a healthy marriage.

That said, there may be other factors in play as well, which have to understood and considered. For example, if your parents are still together, you are 14% less likely to get a divorce. If you are over the age of 25 when you get married, a divorce is nearly 25% less likely to occur. If you and your spouse have kids, the possibility of divorce goes down by 40%, as opposed to those who do not have any kids.

For those who have children, seeking out quality marriage counseling advice may be critical in order to ensure stability in the home. Divorce can have negative affects on the children involved. For instance, more than a quarter of kids living with a parent who is divorced is living under the poverty line.

If you are gay, bisexual, or transgender, you may want to consider visiting with LGBT friendly therapists if you are experiencing complications in your relationship. Perhaps you or your spouse is experiencing gender identity disorder, in which a person is feeling negative psychological effects because his or her true gender is not the one with which he or she was born.

If you have additional questions, comments, or tips about finding a marriage counselor, feel free to share your thoughts in the section below. Visit here for more information.