i am interested in seeking marriage counseling for my husband and I as a last resort to try to save our marriage. I dont know where to start, what services are out there. Currenlty we are struggling to pay the bills so I dont know if we can even afford

I am a hospital social worker and sometimes refer people to community agencies for relationship counselling. In Queensland there are pretty much six options throughout the state; they are all national organisations or services so there should be equivalent ones in your area, whether you live in Sydney or in a regional area. The church-run organisations employ counsellors who are not affiliated with any particular religion; it's just that it's the churches that have the energy and the fundraising capacity to run these large welfare organisations.

Relationships Australia - http://www.relationships.com.au/who-we-are/state-and-territory-organisations/nsw - used to be known as Marriage Guidance (they changed their name because many people are in relationships but are not married). They charge a fee on a sliding scale based on your income. They are a non-government organisation and are totally non-denominational with no church affiliations. They specialise in relationship counselling. Highly recommended (I have used them myself in another life). I have just discovered that they also offer online counselling to New South Wales residents - http://www.relationshiphelponline.com.au/. The cost for this is higher than for face-to-face counselling though. For couple counselling, face-to-face counselling is better anyway.

Lifeline - http://www.lifeline.org.au/other/lifeline_centre_list - is run by the Uniting Church. In Queensland, Lifeline offers very highly regarded face-to-face counselling services throughout the state. They also charge a fee on a sliding scale, but if you are in financial difficulty they may waive the fee for you. In New South Wales these services are provided by Lifeline in some areas, but in Sydney it seems to be Wesley Mission (Lifeline is the telephone counselling arm of Wesley Mission) - http://www.wesleymission.org.au/community_services/counselling/default.asp. It's worth ringing Lifeline's national Just Ask service to get information about the services in your area by phone on 1300 13 11 14 - http://www.lifeline.org.au/about_lifeline/what_we_do/justask. There is also a web-based database of services at http://www.justlook.org.au/. Try putting in counselling and your area and see what comes up.

Centacare - http://www.familyrelationships.org/sydney/index.php - is run by the Catholic Church. If you are not in Sydney, go to http://www.catholicwelfare.com.au/taxonomy/term/19%2C31 to find the Centacare office in your area. Also very highly regarded. They also charge a fee on a sliding scale but may waive this if you are in financial difficulty.

Anglicare - http://www.anglicare.org.au/education/ - is run by the Anglican Church. Contact numbers for relationship counselling throughout NSW are on the attached link. I believe they have the same policy on fees as the other church-run organisations. Also highly regarded.

Community Health Centres - http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/services/index.html - are government services. The ones in New South Wales seem to be the equivalent of our Community Health Centres which have social workers who are able to offer free counselling services. They have a very broad range of clients though, so they may refer you on to one of the above non-government agencies if they are overloaded with crisis work. In rural and regional areas they may be better able to respond. Not the easiest site to navigate, but once you click on your area, if you can find a link on the left to services, the community health centres should come up.

Finally, local neighbourhood centres often have counsellors who can offer relationship counselling services at low or no cost.

Counsellors' styles vary widely and you may need to try out more than one if you find the first one you see has a style that doesn't click with you. Almost anyone can call themselves a counsellor, with training ranging from university degrees to somewhat dodgy correspondence courses. It is best to go with one of the large agencies listed above, as they only employ suitably qualified counsellors.

Generally you can get in to see someone within a week or two. However in some areas, the agencies that offer free counselling services have longer waiting times. If the waiting times are very long and you need to see someone as soon as possible, Relationships Australia is the way to go. The fees are very reasonable, particularly if you are on Centrelink benefits.

It may be helpful for you to go to financial counselling as well. Often relationship problems are made worse by financial stress. The Salvation Army offers free financial counselling through its Moneycare service - http://www.salvos.org.au/need-help/financial-troubles/financial-counselling.php. In Queensland, Lifeline also has an excellent financial counselling service, but in New South Wales this seems to be offered by Lifeline in some areas and Wesley Mission in others. It's the same organisation, just different names to look up depending on where you live.

Good luck with it; I hope your husband is willing to go to counselling with you and you both find it helpful.