I have relocated out of the area, but wanted to leave the message that I am truly grateful to have worked at Well Marriage Center and to have helped support so many couples and individuals in Wilmington. I can say without hesitation that the therapists at WMC-Wilmington are outstanding clinicians and genuine care for their clients.
My husband and I started seeing Jennifer a couple of years ago when she was the only counselor at that office. I wanted to write this review to say how wonderful the experience was for us both. My husband and I were wary because we had a bad experience with another counselor in the past, but Jennifer put us both at ease right away. She was gentle, but always fair and honest. In the first session she said that neither of us was her client, but that our relationship was her client, which is really how she works. She treated us equally and worked with each of us on better communication, expressing feelings, and prioritizing our marriage. Things are so much better now. We recommended Jennifer to two sets of our friends, and both of them see her now. We can’t say enough about how much she helped us! Thank you, Jennifer!
Jennifer has proven to be an amazing therapist for me. I have been working with her for over a year and she has helped me tremendously. I would highly recommend Jennifer and the Well Marriage Center.
The Dalton James review is a fake. I dont see any book recommendations her site, but Dalton is pushing a book.... Im just leaving a five star review to counter-act his bad review.
Update: I see the WMC replied and said this is a fake review. That is not true. I was her client for some time, and as Ive written she was NOT helpful.I actually looked into it with Jennifers licensing board and ethics and found out that it is sketchy at best if not an ethical violation for sure for her or her employer, the Well Marriage Center, to confirm OR deny if someone is or has been her client. The only acceptable response is to not confirm or deny. Saying I was never her client is a violation of confidentiality. I see this business does not care about the privacy of its clients!WARNING! Not great! Be careful with this place!I saw Jennifer Parrella, my marriage was in trouble for reasons I couldnt understand at the time but which I can see clearly now. I spent months with her and my wife working on the marriage, only to find out so many things I wish I knew before and during the marriage counseling. Heres what happened to me.1) Jennifer stated her policy is to only communicate jointly with us as a couple, which turned out to be what she said but not what she actually did. In reality, she had many private contacts with my wife by call and text.2) Jennifer recommended we separate to see how it feels to be without each other. Ms. Parrella wont say this, but I picked up quickly on the fact that Jennifer believes separating is the path to saving a marriage. But thats not true. Its just the first step to divorce.3) Jennifer said she is marriage friendly, which sounds great, but she spent most of the time in our sessions working with me on my issues, and never challenging my wife to work on her stuff. When I brought this up, it was ignored at best and redirected back to my problems at worst.4) Jennifer advised and then instructed my wife, with specifics, on how she could obtain a civil no-contact order against me without any real evidence of me being dangerous or threatening. She was even the one to first suggest the idea and plant the seed in my wifes mind.5) Jennifer buckled under the weight of the stress of marriage counseling. We would spend the whole session fighting, while she sat back and was quiet as a mouse. Then, she would collect her $190 from us, say Good luck out there! and end our session, sometimes even too early (before our hour was up). I feel like she is like a weak-stomached person working in a medical setting. You dont want the nurse drawing your blood to pass out herself when she draws it from you! This is how Jennifer is as a marriage counselor. The first sign of trouble and she clams up, and becomes unable to intervene or function.6) Jennifer, although well meaning, did nothing but harm our marriage. I know this because there is a book on her reading list on her website for The Well Marriage Center, by Dr. Bill Doherty, called Take Back Your Marriage. Well, I bought and read this book and it has a chapter on Avoid Well-Meaning but Ultimately Harmful Therapists. Theres a checklist in this chapter of what makes up a good and a bad therapist, and she had few of the things on the good checklist and most of the things on the bad one.7) Jennifer was so into my wifes story that she missed what I saw after doing only a little reading of my own: that my wife is an image-obsessed narcissist. But Ms. Parrella missed this huge problem because she liked my wife better than me and felt bad for her.I can say so much more but I wont. If you want fair treatment and an unbiased professional, then AVOID Jennifer Parrella. If you want something actually useful, maybe even skip the marriage counseling and pick up two books instead: The Divorce Remedy by Michele Weiner Davis, and Take Back Your Marriage by Bill Doherty.