PREMARITAL COUNSELING
Increase your chances of a happy
marriage with premarital counseling.
You are in love.
You are thinking about committing to spending your life together, or you are already engaged and in the midst of planning your dream wedding.
What about beyond the wedding?
The average amount spent on a wedding these days is more than $35,000, more in the DMV area.
Wow.
That’s a big investment. It’s a pity that a big percentage of those weddings will be followed at some point by the signing of divorce papers.
Premarital counseling can help increase the chance that the wedding will be followed by a fulfilling, long-term marriage. A small investment in this short-term process can reap big rewards as you grow as a couple and build a family.
Wedding or engagement jitters?
Whether you are already engaged or just thinking about the possibility, your next step can be to get guidance, support, and knowledge from a relationship expert.
COUPLES THERAPY CAN HELP.
Do you know each other at a deep level and share the same values?
Some couples pay more attention to planning the wedding than they do to understanding what they need to create a marriage that works for goth people.
When I meet with a premarital couple, they often reveal that they haven’t had heart-to-heart conversations about their vision for the future, about their erotic life, or about what’s getting in the way of complete safety and security with each other.
A few sessions of premarital counseling can help you:
Connect at a deeper level
Develop skills to communicate effectively and resolve conflict quickly
Clarify shared values and understand differences
Come to agreements about your most intimate, erotic life
Handle issues with your extended family both during wedding planning and afterward
Understand ways to keep your relationship safe and secure
Learn about the neurobiology of relationships and how to keep both safety and adventure in your marriage
Wondering whether premarital counseling is right for you? Here are answers to common questions.
How long will premarital counseling take?
Unlike some premarital counseling that is merely educational and very structured, these counseling sessions will be tailored to your unique needs. Counseling starts with in-depth consultation to identify issues and understand attachment styles. Then number of sessions will depend on what needs to be accomplished to create a solid, secure base for your marriage.
Most couples attend premarital counseling once a week for five to ten sessions. Others decide to have intensive counseling, attending longer sessions in a shorter time-frame. It’s flexible.
We get along really well and are madly in love. Will premarital counseling benefit us?
The short answer is a resounding “Yes.”
As much as you love each other and get along well, premarital counseling can give you the skills to work together effectively when you hit inevitable challenges in your marriage. Sometimes what we love most about each other is what eventually causes problems in the relationship. Going into engagement and marriage with eyes open wide and strong knowledge of how to handle issues will benefit you greatly in the long run.
What topics will be covered in premarital counseling?
You will focus mainly on understanding more about each other–from biological, psychological, and social perspectives–how you are different and how to thrive even with those differences.
Here are some of the topics that we can cover:
Life long goals
Attachment styles and communication styles
Guiding principles that you can agree on to govern your marriage
Creating agreements about how you will conduct yourselves in the relationship
Differences in the way each partner’s nervous system operates
Children
Money
Extended families
Gender roles and expectations
Sex
Conflict resolution
Spiritual life
Monogamy and extramarital relations
How can I tell if you are the right therapist for us?
You can get a sense of who I am and how I work with couples by reading this website. But you cannot really know if working with me will feel right until we meet in person. If you are drawn to what you’ve read here, set up a 15-minute free video consultation where we can meet and you can get a sense of what it may be like to work with me. My hope is that with me you’ll feel safe to explore your relationship and find relief from your pain, gain insight into your situation, and learn concrete steps to take for a happier life together.
Make your marriage great (and long)!
Your marriage will be only as good as you are prepared to make it. Contact me to discuss how I can help you improve the odds of creating a happy, fulfilling, long-lasting marriage.