Premarital Counseling
Build your future and foundation together!
Premarital Counseling
Pre-engaged and pre-marital counseling are proactive ways to address and confront sometimes hidden dynamics, create healthy communication strategies, and a solid foundation for the future of your relationship.
Premarital Counseling
Pre-engaged and pre-marital counseling are proactive ways to address and confront sometimes hidden dynamics, create healthy communication strategies, and a solid foundation for the future of your relationship.
Premarital Counseling and Coaching Create spaces to:
Plan for the Future
Younger couples have fewer responsibilities, less baggage, and are more open and receptive to feedback. We’ve found that when couples engage in premarital counseling, results are achieved in far less time saving couples money in the long run, in addition to strife and distress.
Assess Compatibility
We receive training for obtaining a driver’s license or a job, but when and where do we find help for one of the most important decisions in life? Counseling prior to marriage will help you make an informed decision and potentially prevent regrets later on.
Build Communication Skills
The first year of marriage can be one of the most difficult. Developing communication and conflict resolution skills through counseling may not only ease the tension of the early years, but also allow the couple to have a trusted relationship with a counselor to visit when they hit bumps in the road.
Relationship Longevity
Studies show premarital counseling reduces a couple’s chance for divorce by half. We’ll talk about each individual’s expectations for marriage and work through current issues and challenges, as well as develop healthy goals for relationship growth.
Will this work?
Building a Foundation
We help couples younger and older get their marriage off to a good start. When younger couples fall in love, so much hope and anticipation collide with the realities of unresolved issues from childhood, unhealthy coping skills, and pressure to manage life independently. Couples with more experience under their belt enter counseling hoping this new relationship will offer the companionship and comfort that has previously eluded them.
Counseling is a proactive way to address and confront sometimes hidden dynamics. We address the elephant in the room. We offer a third party to give you feedback and “level the playing the field”. When both parties feel heard and understood, even validated, we collaborate together and find new ways to communicate productively.
“When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”
– When Harry Met Sally
Are we a fit?
Work With Us
Every relationship is unique and special, so we are happy to follow your lead regarding premarital and pre-engaged counseling.
For those preferring structure, we will begin by giving you the SYMBIS assessment and your counselor will lead you through the assessment page by page for a thorough look into the strengths and challenges in your relationship. We’ll pause in the areas that need attention and offer you encouragement and praise for the areas you’re successful in.
We ask clients to be honest, ask questions, offer observations, and feel free to interject any concerns or needs along the way.
Ready to get started?
Our Process
We believe couples counseling is for ALL couples because it’s such a significant relationship. We make it easy and even fun! Counseling isn’t always heavy and hard, you’ll find laughter and humor as we dive into personalities and stories that are unique to you.
1
Schedule Consultation
We are thrilled you’re taking a proactive step to care for your dating/engaged relationship. We’d love to chat with you if you’d like to ask questions and make sure one of our clinicians is a good fit. Otherwise, you are welcome to click the ‘schedule online’ button where you will have access to our practice calendar, choose your clinician, and book your first appointment.
2
Complete Paperwork
All intake forms are sent to your email, giving you access to your private, confidential client portal. Allow 30 to 60 minutes to complete all forms. This is an important step because it helps give us an overview of what’s happening and prepare for your first session. The client portal provides you with 24/7 access to all of your paperwork, invoices, scheduling, worksheets, and handouts.
3
Meet with Your Counselor
In the first appointment, we’ll get to know each other, create a genogram, (a quick diagram that illustrates your family members, history, and relationships), and explore what’s happening today. We’ll begin to formulate a plan to move forward and you’ll receive a follow-up email with the next steps.
Resources for Dating / Engaged Couples
Books
Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts
by Les and Leslie Parrot
Healthy Me, Healthy Us: Your Relationships Are Only As Strong As You Are
by Les and Leslie Parrot
Boundaries in Dating: How Healthy Choices Grow Healthy Relationships
by Dr Henry Cloud and Dr John Townsend
The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
by Dave Ramsey
Premarital and Pre-Engaged
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you offer any assessments for couples?
Yes! We use the SYMBIS Assessment and the Gottman Relationship Check-Up. Both assessments are $40 per couple and offer a road map for counseling as well as insights into each partner’s strengths and areas of challenge.
What’s the difference between coaching and counseling?
Very simply, counseling and therapy occur when we examine, address, and understand the past and coaching occurs when we focus more on the future by setting goals, and intentions, and providing accountability and feedback to hangups. We naturally combine coaching and counseling to enable you to implement change and healing simultaneously.
How long should I anticipate being in counseling? How often should we come in?
We recommend couples plan to engage in weekly counseling for at least 2 months. Every couple is unique so we’re happy to work with you as your budget and schedule allow. Some couples will schedule every other week, some weekly, and some monthly. Couples that schedule random sessions often end up simply rehashing their last disagreement, making slower progress, and becoming discouraged because they don’t see results. Research has demonstrated best outcomes are when couples engage weekly, enabling traction, accountability, and momentum.
Will you call out the problems and responsibilities my partner has but isn’t acknowledging?
Absolutely. And, we’ll honor both of you by doing the same for you 🙂 .
We are firm believers that it takes two to tango! The best chance your partner will humbly accept responsibility for their contribution to conflict is YOUR humble acceptance of your part. At the same time, we acknowledge infidelity, substance use, and various diagnoses that one partner is personally responsible for requiring specific, careful, intentional attention and treatment.
What’s your success rate?
100% for couples that accept one hundred percent responsibility for their relationship, behaviors, and actions. We are not miracle workers, but we will give you our very best attention, understanding, teaching, and clinical expertise to enable you to find the intimate, connecting relationship you desire. You will get out of this relationship what you put into it, so the success of counseling is dependent on what you do with the other 167 hours of your week.
How do we pay for your services?
Please see our general Frequently Asked Questions page for information on how much a session costs, our insurance, and other financial policies.