Pre-Marital

When couples are engaged, it may become easy to get caught up in the idea of getting married and planning a wedding and they may not discuss their expectations for their marriage. Other times, couples enter into a marriage with important differences, believing that things will sort themselves out once they are married.  

Premarital counseling is a way for couples to learn more about themselves, their partners, and their relationship before entering into marriage. Premarital counseling can help coupes prepare for challenges and conflicts that may arise in the marriage. Research has shown that premarital counseling reduces the risk of divorce by thirty percent.

I am a trained facilitator in PREPARE/ENRICH, which I use with couples wishing to do premarital counseling.

PREPARE/ENRICH is a customized couple assessment completed online that identifies a couple's strength and growth areas. It is one of the most widely used programs for premarital counseling. Based on the couple's results, I usually meet with the couples for 4-8 feedback sessions in which I help the couple understand their results. During this time, couples are taught relationship skills as well. The assessment explores the following areas:

• Role expectations
• Interests and activities
• Family of origin issues
• Marriage expectations
• Finances
• Children and parenting
• Sexuality
• Communication styles
• Religion