How Pre-Marriage Counseling Saves Marriages
You may wonder how pre-marriage counseling can save a marriage if the couple are not yet married – but it does. Statistics show that where couples have engaged in pre-marriage counseling, their failure rates are almost half the national average. That’s a huge drop in failure rates, but then, if you consider some of the issues that are addressed in pre-marriage counseling, you’ll see why success rates are so high.
One of the first things a marriage counselor will do with a couple considering marriage is to discuss their long-term goals, their plans for the future. This helps a couple concentrate on the future, and hopefully triggers some serious thinking. Young couples, in particular, tend to have a heads-in-the-clouds approach to marriage and the future – after all, they’re in love.
When considering the future, couples need to understand that their will be differences. They will suddenly come across habits their partner engages in that they simply don’t like. Being able to work out how to deal with these differences before you get married removes one of the biggest communication blockages for newlyweds – the fear of offending their partner.
Pre-marriage counseling therefore helps couples to come to a unified decision when it comes to long-range goals, helps to open communication channels for honest discussions of all issues, and provides the couple with conflict resolution skills for when differences emerge – and they will.
There are some states that encourage pre-marriage counseling, and some religions offer it as part of a marriage ceremony package. If you’re about to get married – start your marriage off on the right foot by undertaking pre-marriage counseling – you won’t regret it in the long run.
Very interesting article, i’m happy i found that. Do you think Marriage Counseling is a good idea or just pre marriage counseling?
Good article, but correlation doesn’t imply causation. Isn’t it just as likely that couples who seek pre-marriage counseling are more serious and devoted than typical couples to begin with?
Good to know. Where can I find these statistics?
Wonderful article. I have recently become fascinated by this topic of protective and preventative value of pre-marriage counseling. Accordingly, it really can be viewed as a sub-specialization in marriage and family therapy!
Yes, a good article, I agree.
I have observed this as well in my practice as marriage counsellor – and it makes complete sense: 1.) as you say, the couple would usually in the pre-marriage counselling find a shared ‘relationship vision’, clarifying dreams and goals, 2.) get to know each other more deeply and fully through the counselling process and 3.) have much better tools to communicate with each other in a loving way to resolve conflict when this arises.
Frankly, planning the wedding itself can put so much strain on relationships that they barely make it to the altar. Thus pre-marriage counselling is a real gift to the couple, enabling people to enjoy the run-up to the big day together and live together much more joyfully after.
In 20 years of practice as a speech pathologist, I did 20 years of counseling my patients!Speech pathologists advise patients, families, physicians, other therapists, and nurses on the best methods for managing the particular problems they face with communication, voice, and swallowing disorders. Emotional support is a huge part of it.The beauty of being a speech pathologist is the wide variety of settings and clientele/patients from which to choose. If you get tired of working with a particular population, you can find a job in another.It is possible to learn something new every day, and one isn’t always stuck in an office somewhere on ones backside.Other advantages? Working with a host of professionals in other fields. I can’t begin to tell you how much I learned about medicine, patient care, and disease processes. I learned all about medical insurance and government programs, and how to find patients appropriate aftercare. It made me a far better-informed consumer of healthcare, myself.Not only does speech pathology pay better, it’s always easy to find a job. I was never out of work for longer than a week. Whereas MFTs’ practices are vulnerable due to the state of the economy, rehab jobs are always in high demand.Go to asha.org for more info.