Credit counseling programs have become a legitimate credit card debt relief option for many consumers. These programs basically negotiate and lower the interest rates on your unsecured debt balances. The result is a single payment payment with a lower interest rate. Sounds great right? While it sounds great there are still some things you should understand before entering into such a program.The ideal candidate for a credit counseling program will have several credit card balances with high interest rates. Instead of paying all these back separately, credit counseling programs will combine all of these accounts and negotiate a lower interest rate. Typically your payment to these programs will be the sum of all your minimum payments and the payback period will usually be between 5-9 years.Credit counseling programs are great for consumers that can afford their minimum payments on all their credit cards but they just want to lower the interest rates to make it easier to pay them back. Paying the minimum payments on high interest debt can take forever and many times consumers end up paying 5 times as much as the actual charges on their cards. With credit counseling consumers can make a legitimate effort to pay back their debts but with a lower and more reasonable interest rate.If you are struggling to meet the minimum payments or foresee yourself struggling in the future then a credit counseling program is not a good idea. These programs are notoriously strict and will typically kick out consumers after just a couple missed payments. A debt settlement program would be much more appropriate for consumers are are experiencing a legitimate financial hardship and are struggling with credit card bills.