Premarital counseling is a form of psychological therapy in which the couple is helped to develop the necessary skills in handling future marital conflicts successfully and to talk about expectations in your marriage.
Premarital counseling is similar to couple and family therapy for helping the partners to get over problems, but it differs by shorter duration and limitation of therapeutic goals. Most couples turn to a premarital counselor to help them adapt more easily to the married life and to identify weak points (e.g., holding back emotions, shyness, the problem of maintaining a long-term relationship) in the relationship which could lead a future divorce
Most premarital therapists have a master’s degree, doctoral degree or have completed a post-graduate clinical training program after which most of them become a member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
Many newly engaged couples seek counseling from their religious leaders which can offer advice throughout the engagement. This can range from one or two meetings to an extended series of sessions.
Is premarital education for you? The Answer is YES.
Think of getting married without pre-marriage guidance like starting a business without a business plan or without any marketing research. This is a FACT: Half of all married couples end up getting divorced, and many of them were happily engaged and thought they wouldn’t be contributing to these statistics. 6 states (Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Tennessee) have passed a law that encourages couples to attend professional premarital counseling by offering reductions on marriage license fees. These laws have the purpose to reduce the divorce rate in the states where they are implemented.
By participating in several sessions of pre-marriage counseling before the big day you can reduce the risk of divorce by up to 40% and you have a better chance of having a healthy and a long lasting marriage.
Research shows that it can reduce pre-wedding stress by sharing your emotions and expectations with your future spouse and by assuring you that you’re not alone in this journey we call marriage.
Premarital counseling helps you understand your relationship better as well as make well-thought-out decisions together. Pre-marriage education is the first step you take to having the marriage and life you have dreamed of.
YOU MUST REMEMBER that each partner brings his own ideas, values and opinions and, as you might expect, they don’t always match. The counselor helps you understand that these differences can be complementary (you know the old saying that the opposites attract) and can also help you respect various views and cultures.
Discussing with the counselor about the expectations of married life and knowing potential problems that may arise in the relationship can strengthen the bond between the partners. Mutual understanding before the wedding reduces divorce risk in the first years of marriage.
No matter the cause, distress and tension in any kind of relationship can lead to physical or psychological problems which will end in having a miserable life or divorce.
WHY IS THIS NECESSARY?
Premarital preparation boosts your capacity, as a couple, to handle unexpected difficulties which may occur in the future. Newlyweds need every advantage to succeed in today’s society.
Here is a full list of closely related to marriage topics you must cover and discuss freely:
Covering these topics helps partners to know each other better, to understand what marriage involves and to teach them to solve their conflicts without negative repercussions.
DON’T KNOW HOW TO CHOOSE A COUNSELOR, HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION:
Preparing for marriage involves more planning the wedding. Take the time to build a solid foundation for your relationship so that you and your partner can have a happy, healthy and long lasting marriage.
What Is Premarital Counseling?
