John and Marcy had been together for 26 years. John stated that they had been having problems for the last two years. They had become distant and we’re not really talking. Marcy then stated that these problems had been going on for 10 years and she wanted a divorce.
John then had three months of individual counseling to learn how to be divorced. John was a prison guard and found working with the prisoners to be extremely frustrating. Because he had to be completely controlled at work, when he came home from work, he brought his work with him. He was often angry, and regularly yelled at Marcy.
For the next three months, I worked with John on developing healthy work boundaries.
He found some work colleagues who he could discuss and complain about work with. After three months, Marcy came back into another session with John. During this session, Marcy, stated that she was happy to have her old John back. She decided that she no longer wanted a divorce.