Counseling & Tools for Your Marriage and Family
A licensed therapist to send your couples to, anywhere in California. There is much wisdom in Scripture, and the principles I teach never contradict it. Many major insurance plans accepted, and a sliding fee scale for private pay.
To refer a married or premarital couple, give them marriageandfamily.com. They check their insurance plan, book their own first session, and meet with me, Mark Spurlock, LMFT 45318, by secure video anywhere in California. Christian Counseling is available. Private pay is $200 per couples session, with a sliding fee scale. You get no updates without the couple’s written consent.
You are the first call when a marriage is in trouble. Sometimes the couple needs more hours than you have, and sometimes they need care that belongs with a licensed clinician. This page is so you have somewhere to send them. When one spouse wants out, this page may help: marriage counseling when one spouse wants out.
Book with Mark · Print the referral guide · Copy the referral note
I know what you are weighing when you give someone a name. You have watched couples come back from counseling further apart than they went in, repeating language that does not sound like them. That is not what happens here. Telling the truth, keeping your word, hearing before you answer, repairing what you broke: a couple from your church will recognize all of it.
I am a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, license 45318, counseling since 1998. As a seminary adjunct I taught Marriage and Family Therapy graduate students. This is licensed therapy, not pastoral counseling, and I do not take your place. When a couple needs their pastor, I say so.
Licensed since 2008. M.S., Counseling Psychology, CSU Fullerton. Ten years leading court-ordered domestic violence groups. More about me.
Christian Counseling is available. The teaching and counseling never contradict Scripture. See Christian marriage counseling.
Adults, 18 and older, anywhere in California. Couples, married and premarital. Individuals for ADHD, Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, Childhood Trauma, Addiction and Men’s Issues. Christian Counseling is available. All sessions are by secure video.
For couples, I see married and engaged couples only.
All sessions are by secure video, 53 to 60 minutes. Rural congregations and couples with long commutes don’t need to drive.
Many major insurance plans are accepted. The person picks their plan on the Insurance and Fees page and books from there, and their coverage is checked before the first session. Private pay is 150 dollars per individual session and 200 dollars per couples session, and a sliding fee scale is available. Nobody in your church should stay away over money without asking first.
Every plan is different, so couples should verify benefits with their plan. Read Does insurance cover marriage counseling?
For the sliding fee scale, ask after the first session or email info@marriageandfamily.com. Private-pay clients get a written Good Faith Estimate before the first session.
Premarital couples can take the Premarital Series: four sessions for 600 dollars after a first session, which saves them 200. It covers money, family, children, conflict, expectations and faith. If your church already requires premarital counseling, this is a straightforward place to send them.
It is private pay. The first session is 200 dollars, and the four after it are prepaid. Sessions not used are refunded. A sliding fee scale is available.
Questions before you refer? Write or call. I reply within two business days.
Please do not send me a couple’s details by email. Email is not private, and I do not take client information from a third party.
If someone is in danger, call or text 988, or call 911.
Write to mark@marriageandfamily.com, or call (619) 813-0315. Calls and texts reach me anywhere in California. Please leave out client details. I am glad to tell you whether someone sounds like a fit before you send them.
With the person’s written authorization, I can confirm they started and send a short update when it helps their care. Without it, I cannot confirm that anyone contacted me at all. If someone is not a fit, I give three referrals, as I do throughout my practice.
The counseling work stays between the couple and me. They are free to tell you anything they choose, and many couples do.
Paste this into a text to your couple.
For a married couple:
I’d like to recommend a counselor I trust for your marriage. Mark Spurlock is a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (license 45318) who has been counseling since 1998. He meets with couples by secure video anywhere in California. Christian Counseling is available. Many insurance plans are accepted, and your coverage is checked before the first session. Private pay is $200 a session, with a sliding fee scale. You can see options and book your own first session at marriageandfamily.com/find-your-plan/. What you share with him stays confidential; I won’t get updates unless you give written permission.
For an engaged couple: change “for your marriage” to “as you prepare for marriage,” and swap the insurance and private-pay sentences for:
Premarital counseling is a private-pay series: a first session at $200, then four sessions for $600. Sessions you don’t use are refunded, and a sliding fee scale is available.
A workbook for your couples. Navigating Conflicts in Relationships came out of years of anger management group work. Give it to anyone. There is nothing to sign up for. Download the workbook, Navigating Conflicts in Relationships, PDF
A one-page referral guide. Who I see and how someone starts. Print the referral guide
Two sentences for your church’s counseling page. If your church keeps a list of outside counselors, you are welcome to copy this:
Mark Spurlock, LMFT (California license 45318) offers marriage counseling, premarital counseling and individual therapy by secure video anywhere in California. Counseling since 1998. Christian Counseling is available, and the teaching and counseling never contradict Scripture. Many major insurance plans accepted, with a sliding fee scale for private pay. marriageandfamily.com
More free tools are on the Resources page.
Is Mark a Christian counselor? Christian Counseling is available, and the teaching never contradicts Scripture. This is licensed therapy, not pastoral counseling.
Does he see couples anywhere in California? Yes, by secure video, for adults 18 and older.
Does he take insurance for marriage counseling? Many major plans are accepted, and coverage is checked before the first session. Couples should verify benefits with their plan. See Does insurance cover marriage counseling?
What if a couple can’t afford it? Couples private pay is 200 dollars per session, and a sliding fee scale is available.
How do I refer a couple? Give them marriageandfamily.com. They book their own first session.
Will I get updates on the couple? Only with their written authorization.
Can I send him the couple’s information by email? No. Email is not private, and I do not take client information from a third party.
Do you offer premarital counseling for couples I’m marrying? Yes. The Premarital Series is private pay: 200 dollars for the first session, then four prepaid sessions for 600 dollars. Unused sessions are refunded, and a sliding fee scale is available.
In His Grace, Mark
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