MARRIAGE COUNSELLING 213 



one that gives us the most satisfaction. But so far, this Department has 

 been called on much more frequently by couples already married, who face 

 difficulties that they can not solve and want help in dealing with them. 



Each case requires analysis to determine the causes of friction; then the 

 couple must be aided to remove these one at a time, and to substitute 

 new attitudes and new knowledge to prevent the recurrence of such causes 

 of friction. Obviously it is necessary to have the intelligent cooperation 

 of both husband and wife. The trouble must be as simple as it is rare, 

 which can be dealt with if only one partner is seen. 



To recognize the causes of friction when they are seen, is important; to 

 know where to look for them is, in practice, more important. They may be 

 grouped under five heads, with full recognition of overlapping and compli- 

 cated relationships between them. 



(1) PHYSICAL CONDITION 



Such obvious difficulty as may result from a diet inadequate in amount, or 

 ill-balanced, or from lack of necessary exercise or muscular relaxation, is 

 usually well known to the client, and he merely needs encouragement to apply 

 an appropriate remedy. If there is anything really the matter with him, he 

 usually knows that likewise, so far as our experience goes, and if he is not 

 taking proper medical treatment, it is usually because of lack of funds or 

 lack of faith in the medical profession. The most serious difficulty under 

 this heading is the simple one (though the difficulty of dealing with it 

 tactfully is great), of personal hygiene. Lack of cleanliness, presence of 

 bodily odor, failure to attend to the hygiene of the teeth, and the like, 

 are among the common and really serious annoyances of conjugal life, as 

 presented by those who come for assistance in straightening out their per- 

 sonal difficulties. In such cases the remedy is obvious. 



(2) ECONOMIC CONDITIONS 



These are involved in virtually every case of maladjustment that has 

 come to our attention. The problem of the woman who lacks or feels that 

 she lacks proper clothes to appear in the society to which she has been ac- 

 customed, is as serious as it is common. The rating scale devised by J. E. 

 Morgan for measurement of family welfare is an exceedingly simple one 

 which we have found useful in giving clients a picture of their own situation 

 and a standard toward which to work in improving it. The most universal 

 factor under this heading, however, relates to budgeting and the manage- 

 ment of expenditures. These offer a real difficulty in many cases, and if 

 husband and wife are antagonistic for other reasons, then the daily problems 



