Premarital Counseling: 4 Types of Premarital Counseling

Premarital counseling programs assist couples in discussing important issues to pave the way for a healthy marriage. Sometimes, couples do not live together before their wedding day, have not fully explored their sex life, or have never had another kind of long-term commitment—in these cases, premarital therapy provides couples with a safe space to discuss their concerns and issues. A couples therapist, religious leader, and even mental health professional can lead these premarital counseling sessions; all of them aim to help the couple build a solid foundation for their eventual marriage.

Marriage counseling sessions might involve several different topics, including:

1. 1. Communication skills: Married couples lead busy lives, so communication is essential in maintaining satisfaction and helping you and your partner understand each other’s points of view.
2. 2. Conflict resolution: All couples experience opposite opinions or conflicts, and therapy sessions can provide couples with ways to collaboratively and compassionately work through their differences with conflict resolution methods.
3. 3. Family wellness: Individuals may have distinct ideas regarding raising a family; couples counseling will help brides-to-be and grooms-to-be discuss how to raise a family as a unified front.
4. 4. Financial management: Marriage often means couples combine and share finances, so discussing ways to merge finances effectively will lead to a healthy relationship.

Premarital counseling can benefit engaged couples. Consider the following advantages:

1. 1. Builds a therapy routine: Sometimes, premarital counseling can lead to lifelong, healthy therapy habits. Couples therapy may offer a free consultation to see how you get along with a therapist, and the sessions do not have to stop once the wedding comes and goes.
2. 2. Helps create a foundation: Counseling offers couples a safe space to ask questions, understand their partner’s needs, and build a foundation for a marriage stabilized by compassion and compromise.
3. 3. Identifies marriage goals: Premarital counseling means you will get to know your partner’s needs and lifestyle, which is essential before saying, “I do.” Knowing this information in advance can help you better prepare for what kind of marriage you will create together.

Premarital counseling can also present its fair share of challenges. Consider the following drawbacks:

1. 1. Cost: On a practical level, finding insurance-covered or affordable counselors is also essential. Price rates for sessions can range, and sometimes insurance will not cover this form of therapy, so finding reasonable out-of-pocket prices can be tricky.
2. 2. Highlights differences: If couples have not had deep conversations about their marriage before counseling, the ensuing sessions can illuminate differences between the two partners.
3. 3. Sensitive topics: How you and your partner each want to raise children, spend money, and compromise on household tasks and responsibilities can be complex subjects. The therapist’s job is to help couples articulate their needs and work through their issues before getting married.

Couples can expect to field personal questions and discuss what they love about their partner in their premarital counseling sessions. Counseling sessions might include questions about:

• Challenges: The therapist will likely also ask what each partner loves about the other and what facets of their partner’s personality prove difficult. Through this, the therapist aims to celebrate the couple's love and identify what relationship elements may need improvement.
• Expectations: The therapist will also ask leading questions to understand what each partner expects from the marriage. How those expectations differ—in terms of family planning, house buying, and financial saving—will reveal what the therapist will focus on to build a stronger relationship.
• Partnership: Therapists will often want to learn how a couple met, why they chose to get engaged, and their hopes and goals for the future.

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