The Marriage Guidance Council

AuthorDavid Mace
Date01 January 1947
Published date01 January 1947
DOI10.1177/026455054700500702
Subject MatterArticles
86
THE
MARRIAGE
GUIDANCE
COUNCIL
By
Dr.
DAVID
MACE,
Secretary
of
The
Marriage
Guidance
Council
In
the
last
issue
of
this
journal
an
interesting
article
appeared
on
the
Catholic
Marriage
Advisory
Council.
It
has
been
suggested
that
I
might
follow
this
up
with
two
further
articles
on
the
general
subject
of
marriage
counselling-the
first
an
account
of
the
work
of
the
Marriage
Guidance
Council,
the
second
a
general
discus-
sion
of
the
relation
between
these
marriage
counselling
groups,
the
matrimonial
side of
probation
work,
and
any
plans
or
policies
which
may
emerge
in
the
final
report
of
the
Denning
Committee
on
Divorce.
Most
probation
officers
know
a
good
deal
about
the
Marriage
Guidance
Council,
many
having
been
actively
associated
with
it
for
several
years.
But
for
the sake
of
those
who
are
not
clear
on
the
matter,
here
is
a
brief
account
of
its
origin
and
development.
Officially
the
Council
came
into
being
in
1938;
although
for
some
years
earlier
a
group
of
doctors,
parsons,
social
workers
and
others
had
been
meeting
to
discuss
the
need
for
providing
help
to
people
in
marital
difhculties.
There
was
at
least
one
probation
officer
associated
with
that
pioneer
group.
On
the
outbreak
of
war
the
Council’s
work
was
sus-
pended.
It
was
not
until
1942
that
it
was
resumed.
By
that
time
the
seriousness
of
the
effect
of
war
conditions
upon
marriage
was
becoming
apparent.
The
Council
was
therefore
completely
reconstituted
to
meet
the
new
situation.
Lord
Horder
and
Dr.
Fisher
(then
Bishop
of
London,
now
Archbishop
of
Canterbury)
were
its
launching
presidents.
-
Early
in
1943
we
opened
our
present
headquarters
at
78,
Duke
Street,
W.1.
At
the
same
time
we
set
up
the
first
marriage
guidance
centre
in
Britain.
The
whole
thing
appeared
at
that
time
to
be
a
daring
experiment.
,The
view
we
took
was
that
sooner
or
later
someone
had
to
try out
the
idea.
So
we
made
the
venture.
,
The
response
was
almost
immediate.
The
press
gave
us
a
good
deal
of
publicity.
People
began
to
seek
our
help.
In
less
than
four
years,
well
over
4,000
cases
have
been
dealt
with
at
the
London
centre
alone.
Experience
has
.enabled
us
to
find
the
best
methods
of
working,
and
a
.pattern
has
now
been
established
which
has
been
suc-
cessfully
applied
to
provincial
centres.
Some
kind
of
start
in
marriage
guidance
has
already
been
made
in
most
large
towns
and
cities.
Altogether
we
have
contacts
with
interested
groups
in
about
a
hundred
and
forty
places
throughout
the
land,
and
many
links
with
other
countries.
People
seeking
help
are
first
interviewed
by
a
marriage
_counsellor.
These
are
at
present
almost
entirely
volun-
tary ;
but
in
the
future
we
expect
to
see
an
increasing
number
becoming
full
time
social
workers.
We
are
working
out
now
the
basis
upon
which
these
marriage
counsellors
will
be
selected
and
trained.
As
their
com-
petence
increases,
they
should
be
able
to
deal
more
and
=more
adequately
with
the
cases
they
have
to
handle.
--They
will
always
need,
however,
the
help
of
a
panel
of
specialist
consultants,
and
such
a
team
is
built
round
.every
marriage
guidance
centre.
These
consultants
fall
into
five
categories-medical,
psychological,
ethical
and
spiritual,
social,
and
legal.
They
are
called
in
to
advise
whenever
the
counsellor
is
confronted
with
something
which
is
beyond
his
competence.
At
first
our
work
had
to
be
based
on
a
strictly
short
contact
basis-making
a
preliminary
diagnosis
and
passing
on
for
further
treatment
to
some
other
agency.
The
very
pressure
of
the
cases
coming
to
us
prevented
any
effective
follow-up.
But
this
is
far
from
satisfactory;
and
the
tendency
now,
especially
in
provincial
centres,
where
the
sheer
weight
of
the
case-load
is
less
heavy,
is
to
go
on
with
a
case
over
a
period
of
time.
As
more
counsellors
become
available,
and
their
standard
of
training
is
raised,
this
will
probably
become
the
estab-
lished
principle,
and
will
ease
the
strain
on
the
specialist
consultants
by
making
less
demand
on
their
services.
Our
experience
has
made
it
increasingly
clear
that
effective
marriage
guidance
work
depends
upon
making
contact
with
the
people
concerned
as
early
as
possible
in
the
development
of
their
conflicts.
Every
probation
officer
knows
that
only
too
well..Our
policy
is
therefore
greatly
to
increase
the
marriage
preparation
work
of
our
centres,
get
in
touch
with
couples
at
the
very
beginning
of
their
married
life,
and
show
them
the
importance
of
using
the
services
of
the
centre
at
once
when
they
encounter
anything
which
looks
like
serious
trouble.
What
we
have
already
done
in
this
direction
has
met
with
encouraging
success.
All
this,
however,
is
not
of
itself
enough.
There
is
a
great
battle
to
be
fought
in
the
realm
of
ideas.
We
have
therefore
set
up
our
Education
Department
to
foster
means
of
spreading
sound
values
and
standards
about
marriage
and
family
life.
We
encourage
local
Marriage
Guidance
Councils
to
arrange
courses
of
lectures,
for
young
people
or
adults,
based
on
syllabuses
provided
for
their
guidance.
We
arrange
conferences
and
specialist
groups.
We
undertake
propaganda.
through
the
press
and
in
other
ways.
We
have
opened
a
Marriage
Guidance
Book
Room,
at
our
London
headquarters,
to
encourage
the
sale
of
sound
books
on
marriage.
In
addition
we
are
publishing
literature
of
our
own,
based
on
our
practical
experience
of
the
needs
of
men
and
women.
Indeed,
in
every
way
open
to
us,
we
are
striving
to
increase
public
enlightenment
and
public
responsibility
in
this
field..
The
Marriage
Guidance
Council
is
a
voluntary
organi-
sation.
As
such,
its
work
is
inevitably
hampered
by
lack
of
funds,
and
contributions
are
always
welcomed.
Our
aim
is
to
fill
a
gap
in
the
social
services.
We
do
not
wish
to
compete
with
any
other
body
or
organisation,
but
to
co-operate
cordially
with
all
who
share
our
aim-the
fostering,
by
any
and
every
means,
of
sound
marriage
and
parenthood.
Literature
about
the
Council’s
work
will
gladly
be
sent
to
anyone
interested.
From
the
beginning
our
relations
with
the
Probation
Service
have
been
close
and
cordial.
I
shall
go
into
this
question
more
fully,
and
try
to
indicate
fruitful
lines
of
future
co-operation,
in
my
next
article.

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