Marriage counseling is a word, a process that is usually brought up when one spouse approaches another about a divorce. Marriage counseling is not a bad idea, it can clean the air of many problems and obstacles in the marriage, and it can also show the spouse who does not want a divorce that the problems are more than the marriage can handle. Often this is the first step when the marriage is noticeably in trouble but two people want to work out their problems to see if divorce or marriage is right for their situation. A very real danger here is that sometimes marriage counseling is used as a divorce dirty trick by the spouse who has made up their mind but needs time to prepare. This is a key strategy for a man and a very powerful one. The old saying about hoping for the best but prepare for the worst is something to think about when marriage counseling is being considered.