Any Marriage/Relationship counselors in the area?

[Jello]

My wife is from Udon, I suggested marriage counseling, but she reacted like I had a disease. Her friends laughed. Pretty sure it isn't considered means to a solution.

Could be that going to counseling is stigmatized in this culture as it once was in the west. If your unhappy you might want to try going alone, preferably to a therapist that is versed in Thai/Western relationships.

Going Alone
Marriage isn’t always equal, and there may be times when you or your spouse works harder on the relationship. If you want to improve your marriage, working on yourself—even without your spouse—can be a powerful first step. As you begin to make changes, your spouse’s behavior may also change. And in some cases, your spouse might be so curious about what happens in therapy that he or she feels compelled to go with you. Even if your spouse never goes to therapy, however, going alone can help you deal with the stress of marital problems and, if your spouse refuses to work on these problems, help you figure out your next steps.http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/when-yo ... py-0523137

[bamakmak]

Mrs. Dtam at the Mono Place (which is close to Aek Hospital) provides counseling services. I am not sure if that includes relationship counseling, but you could call her and ask. She has a degree in Psychology and speaks excellent English.

[rickfarang]

To those responding to this thread, thank you for your replies. The original issue has been resolved -the husband does what he likes and sends money each month for the baby and the wife has given up on a dream \marriage. As per Jello's post, neither party would recognize his/her own wrongdoing.

[jimjay]

Very sadly, as usual, the child loses out on any semblance of family life except the cloistered one-side system. It's important to have both parents.

Good on your rickfarang for trying to help, -it's a pretty honorable thing you did, as you probably knew it could backfire but you helped anyways.

Will hope the best for the child on this one.

[pf-flyer]

My wife is from Udon, I suggested marriage counseling, but she reacted like I had a disease. Her friends laughed. Pretty sure it isn't considered means to a solution.

I have seen that reaction from the wifes family members also. Especially the senior family members will not hesitate to run roughshod over what is left of the relationship to assert and insist their solution to the issue at hand. The solution is usually the need to deal with an outside force that has nefarious intentions toward the relationship that has to be dealt with. I have not yet to see a solution in the villages that included each party of the relationship taking responsibility of their actions and words and to have an honest discussion being completely truthful with each other about their wants and needs. Face and Social status always take precedence.

[parrot]

I hate to say it, but 'our' brains are wired 120v. The natives are 220v. Most everyone knows what happens when you plug a 120 appliance into a 220 outlet.

[trubrit]

I hate to say it, but 'our' brains are wired 120v. The natives are 220v. Most everyone knows what happens when you plug a 120 appliance into a 220 outlet.

It blows out.Well us from the Uk are used to operating on 240v so imagine the problem we have.

[pf-flyer]

I hate to say it, but 'our' brains are wired 120v. The natives are 220v. Most everyone knows what happens when you plug a 120 appliance into a 220 outlet.

My wife and I lived in Pennsylvania for 40 years. She acquired 120v mindset over those years. I have observed her over the years since we retired here in Thailand. She has her struggles with the 220v mindset also. There are times when she is trying to understand and she makes the statement " What is wrong with these people"