PRE MARRIAGE COUNSELING
Prepare-Enrich Premarital Counseling
Prepare-Enrich is one of the most-used and top premarital and marriage assessment tools. The assessment is evidence-based and scientifically proven to help couples improve their relationships. The workbook and sessions impart evidence-based tools, skills, reflections, and insights that support the development and maintenance of a healthy relationship.
While often used by couples during the engagement process before marriage, the Prepare-Enrich tools and check-ins are effective in increasing communication, intimacy, and connection at any stage of a committed relationship. In fact, Prepare-Enrich encourages "check-ups" where couple repeat the assessment and skills training at different stages of relationship.
The Prepare-Enrich skills you will learn (such as assertiveness and active listening) and the Prepare-Enrich topics we will cover (such as partnership style and habits or sex and intimacy) can improve relationship quality, help you understand your partner and yourself, and serve as a preventative measure to ensure a strong foundation that can help you and your partner weather problems when they inevitably arise. Engaging in pre-marriage counseling can further strengthen your bond by fostering open communication, setting realistic expectations, and addressing potential challenges before they become major issues.
How Premarital Counseling Works
- Before your initial session, you and your partner will have a free intake call to ensure that you feel working with your therapist and doing pre-marital counseling is a good fit for you as a couple.
- In your initial session, your therapist will go over therapy process and procedure and ask you some questions about your relationship. Your therapist will send a link for you and your partner take an assessment individually.
- Before your next session, you and your partner will receive a document with your assessment results to go through together in the next session.
- In your next session, you will review your results with you and guide you through exercises to define your goals in pre-marital counseling as you identify growth and challenge areas with your partner.
- In the next three or four sessions, you and your partner will move through the four core units and core skills of the Prepare-Enrich method.
- After completing these sessions, you as a couple will address additional challenge areas identified in your first session and other couple difficulties as needed.
- Upon completion of Prepare-Enrich units, you may choose to continue general couples counseling for continued support addressing patterns of conflict or habitual couple dynamics.
While Prepare-Enrich is a structured approach that is highly comprehensive and addresses most issues premarital couples are facing, there is room for you and your partner to bring up topics that are not addressed directly in the workbook or assessment. Since your clinician is also a trained couples therapist, these topics would be addressed using traditional couples therapy techniques. This combination ensures that whether you choose in-person sessions or online pre marriage counseling, your unique concerns are fully supported.
In each session, you can expect:
- A check-in about your homework experience and any questions or reflections that have arisen
- Specific feedback from about your strengths (agreement items) and potential issues (disagreement, indecision, and special focus items).
- Guided in-session exploration of exercises from the Workbook for Couples
- Homework from the Workbook for Couples
Sample Topics:
Strength & Growth Areas
Relationship Dynamics
Communication
Commitment
Personal Stress Profile
Conflict Resolution
Personality
Financial Management
Relationship Roles
Sex and Affection
Leisure Activities
Children and Parenting
Spiritual Beliefs
Sample Skills:
Assertiveness & Active Listening
Balancing priorities
Managing stress
Resolving conflict
Problem-solving
Stress management
Managing finances and budgeting
Expression of intimacy
Sharing roles
Noticing + shifting family patterns
Managing wedding expectations
Understanding + accepting your and your partner's personality
About the assessment, according to Prepare-enrich.com
The assessment is:
A momentary snapshot of your relationship
A catalyst for discussion between you and your partner
Proven to lower your risk of divorce
An accurate, research-based report of your relationship strength and growth areas
A valid and reliable source of relationship enrichment
A reflection of what your relationship historically has been or will be in the future
The assessment is not:
A compatibility report or a test you can pass or fail
A guarantee for a successful relationship
A measure that indicates you should break up or get married
The Prepare Enrich Workbook for Couples contains 24 feedback exercises covering 12-14 relationship categories. These are reviewed by you and your clinician with an emphasis on the core skills and challenge areas that you and your partner jointly identify with your therapist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What is premarital counseling and why is it important before marriage?
A: Premarital counseling helps couples strengthen communication, set expectations, and address potential issues before marriage. It builds emotional safety and reduces conflict, setting a solid foundation for a healthy, lasting relationship.
Q2: What topics are covered in premarital counseling?
A: Premarital counseling usually explores communication, finances, family planning, intimacy, conflict resolution, roles, and long-term goals. It creates space for couples to align on what matters most in their relationship.
Q3: What happens in premarital counseling?
A: In premarital counseling, couples meet with a therapist to explore relationship dynamics, improve communication, discuss expectations, and address potential challenges. Sessions often include guided conversations, conflict resolution exercises, and tools to strengthen emotional connection.
Q4: What questions are asked in premarital counseling?
A: Counselors may ask about your relationship history, values, life goals, beliefs about marriage, parenting plans, financial habits, intimacy, and how you handle conflict. These questions help uncover patterns and foster understanding between partners.
Q5: What are the challenges of premarital counseling?
A: Common challenges include discussing sensitive topics, facing personal insecurities, or uncovering relationship differences. However, these are opportunities for growth and can lead to deeper trust and alignment as a couple.
Q6: What are the key aspects of premarital counseling?
A: Key aspects include improving communication, setting shared goals, resolving conflicts, discussing finances, understanding family dynamics, and building emotional intimacy. These areas help couples prepare for a stable and fulfilling marriage.
