Premarital Counseling

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Why It’s Done
Your marriage is one of the most important and satisfying relationship you’ll ever have. And like any relationship, to get a lot out of it, you have to put a lot into it. A successful marriage takes an investment of time, effort, and a commitment to your partner and the relationship.

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It takes trust, honesty, sharing your goals and dreams, and understanding each other’s values and outlooks on life. It also requires good listening skills, having an open mind, and a whole list of other qualities that are sometimes overlooked.

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One of the keys is healthy communications between partners. But how do you bring up difficult topics? How do you create a safe environment for open discussion? How do you listen in an understanding and loving way? How do you encourage those heart-to-heart conversations that are so important to deeply understanding your partner. To this end communications training is an essential part of the premarital counseling experience.

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What is Premarital Counseling
Premarital counseling is a type of therapy that helps couples prepare for marriage. Premarital counseling can help ensure that you and your partner have a strong, healthy relationship — giving you a better chance for a long lasting, stable and satisfying marriage. Premarital counseling can also help you identify growth areas that have the potential to become issues during marriage.

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It can also help couples improve their relationships before marriage. Through counseling, couples are encouraged to discuss a wide range of important and intimate topics related to their future marriage.

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Working with a counselor helps partners improve their ability to communicate, set realistic expectations for marriage and develop conflict-resolution skills. In addition, it can help couples establish a positive attitude about seeking help in the future if necessary.

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Keep in mind that you bring your own values, opinions and personal history into a relationship, and they might not always match your partner's. In addition, many people go into marriage believing it will fulfill their social, financial, sexual and emotional needs — and that's not always the case. By discussing differences and expectations before marriage, you and your partner can better understand and support each other during marriage.

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How is it Done
Premarital counseling typically includes three to five meetings with a counselor. We use an online resource called PREPARE/ENRICH. You begin by taking PREPARE/ENRICH to identify your current strengths and growth areas as a couple. You then have a meeting with your counselor who provides feedback to help you understand your results as well as teach you important relationship skills. From beginning to end our program is designed to be comfortable, relaxed and even fun.

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What is PREPARE/ENRICH
PREPARE/ENRICH is a customized couple assessment that identifies a couple's strength as well as growth areas. The inventory is completed online, and the results serve as the basis for discussion in a series of follow up counseling sessions. Over 3 million couples have taken the PREPARE/ENRICH and it is one of the most extensively researched couple assessment tools in the world.

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With PREPARE/ENRICH, you will:
• Identify your strengths as a couple and build new ones
• Strengthen your communication skills
• Uncover stressful areas and resolve conflicts
• Explore your family of origin
• Comfortably discuss financial issues
• Establish personal, couple and family goals
• Understand and appreciate personality differences