الملخص الإنجليزي
The study aimed at examine the reality of marital and family counseling practice in the Omani society through identifying counselors' evaluation of guidance process elements: (Agency, clients, counselor services, counselors or social workers) in the Family Guidance and Counselling and some districts / regional departments. The study also aims at revealing practice obstacles in the process of marital / family guidance, as perceived by counselors in these agencies. In addition, the study aimed at describing the image of professional practice for the marital / family guidance in its preventive dimension at the family guidance and Counselling centers under the supervision of the Ministry of social development, as well as to identify the extent of Omani women's knowledge of marital and family counseling services available in these agencies.
Based on sampling and comprehensive survey methods, the current descriptive study was applied to the family guidance and counseling central department, and some districts/ social development departments affiliated in some governorates of the Sultanate of Oman as follows: Ten Directorates; two of the active- private family guidance and counseling centers in Muscat Governorate; as well as a random sample of 260 Omani women; nineteen counselors; two directors of the private centers; the assistant director of the Department of Family Guidance and Counseling; and finally, the head of the awareness and prevention programs in the same department.
Through the usage of "questionnaire" and "unstructured-interview" tools, the study revealed several results regarding the aspect of therapeutic and preventive family guidance and marital counseling in the studied governmental and private agencies. The study concluded the obvious need for inspection and development by competent authorities in order to achieve efficiency and generally accepted practice standards in the area of family counseling and guidance. The study also concluded the lack of knowledge of the vast majority of Omani women, in the study sample, of public and private marital and family counseling services available in the targeted study agencies.
