MARRIAGE COUNSELLING 



PAUL POPENOE 



General Director, Institute of Family Relations, Los Angeles, California 



Family counselling has doubtless been done in one way or another by 

 everyone who was given an opportunity to do so since the beginning of his- 

 tory. The Catholic priesthood among others has been trained for centuries 

 to aid its parishioners in this way. But the change that has occurred during 

 the last decade, which has led to what is rapidly becoming a recognized 

 movement, results from accumulating scientific knowledge, especially con- 

 cerning heredity and eugenics; and from a better understanding of the moti- 

 vation of human behavior. It has been particularly accelerated by the 

 increasing breakdown of family life in every civilized country, due to a large 

 variety of social and economic causes. 



The advice and information given may be either preventive or remedial, 

 dependent largely on whether it is given before or after marriage. The 

 European marriage advice bureaus (Eheberatungsstellen), particularly those 

 established by authority of the Prussian government, have attempted to 

 reach people before marriage, sometimes definitely limiting their services 

 to the unmarried. And since prevention is better than cure, any agency 

 in this field will naturally prefer to reach its clients before they are in dif- 

 ficulties, rather than afterward. 



If people can be advised effectively before marriage, such an agency 

 naturally has an eugenic value, in promoting wise marriages and discouraging 

 unwise ones. From this point of view, the movement has been hailed by 

 many as a most important factor in eugenic progress. 



Analysis, and still more experience, indicate that the eugenic value of 

 marriage advice is likely to be exaggerated. Most couples are seen only 

 when they have already planned to marry. In Los Angeles they come to 

 us anywhere from a week to a month before the wedding day. It is neither 

 feasible nor desirable to break up such a proposed marriage in most cases. 

 If people are to be influenced eugenically in their choice of mates, this influ- 

 ence must usually be exerted through education of public opinion, not later 

 than the high school period. 



Once in a while, of course, it is possible to advise people who are about 



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