check with your or your husbands company. Many companies offer employee assistance programs. My husbands job offers 6 free sessions, while other companies offer a discounted rate. It would be worth it to check. Good luck!

Is that just through HR/benefits?

Try your church or synagogue if you have one. Often times pastoral counseling is free of charge or done at the cost of whatever donation you can afford to give.

If you don't belong to a church, try Catholic Community Services. Even if you're not Catholic or religious at all, they can still be very helpful. I thought our pre-marriage counseling shed a lot of light on common problems to come, and often times my husband or I will refer back to things we learned from that(and I'm not a Catholic, so the fact that that's irrelevant is first hand).

Good luck, and I hope all is well with you.

it would be under your benefits, if they are available to you. Definitely worth looking at your packets :-)

Ohmy also had a great idea. A church is also a great place to go to not only vent, but to work on issues (personal experience) they help to teach you, not just talk at you.

Does your community have a Leisure Services department at city hall? Sometimes the same department that runs the public swimming pools runs public counseling and informational sessions too.

Hi Keepit,

Under a benefits plan, there is usually some provision for counseling, however, sessions are usually limited to a certain number per year and most plans require a reasonable copayment for each visit.

I'm pretty sure that in order to receive joint counseling, though, both of you need to be covered under that plan.

I like the suggestion about the Catholic church - even if you are not Catholic. There are some orders who have very highly trained and compassionate missionaries who understand the complex issues that impact today's relationships.

The Archdiocese in your area should be able to give you information on the orders in your city who provide services such as this.

I recently visited a Catholic hermitage in my city (out of curiosity) and they welcomed me with open arms. It was an awesome and beautiful place. The woman who gave me the tour invited my husband and I to come stay for a weekend for a couples retreat and she did tell me it was free of charge. She never even asked if I was Catholic. I think it would be a great experience.
Good luck!

Universitites. They have health centers with counseling available. Usually sliding scale. The one I went to (not couple) didn't take health insurance but it is about half of what you normally pay. And psychologists are all trained and lisenced. So check local universities and their health centers, look up online or give them a call.

Also, I don't know if you're married or not, but as far as the Catholic church goes, they have an enormous interest in doing whatever's possible to keep marriages together. And if you're not married yet, they will be very frank with you on if they feel that is a good idea for you or not at this time...as they are not into creating future divorces. And again, I don't think you're going to get much more affordable than pastoral counseling.