Pre-Marital Counseling-What Are the Benefits

Pre-Marital counseling has many benefits to couples wanting to tie the knot. Getting married is easy, staying married can be a bit more challenging. Couples with pre-marital education reported higher levels of marital satisfaction and experienced a 31% decline (https://phys.org/news/2006-06-premarital-divorce.html) in the likelihood of divorce over five years.

Some of the Benefits of Pre-marital Counseling

• Helps the couple learn how to keep conversations on task when discussing heavy-duty topics.
• Helps the couple to stay focused on accomplishing the task at hand.
• Teaches or improves conflict resolution skills and revealing how partners reacts when a disagreement presents itself.
• Brings topics to the forefront that may not be otherwise discussed, such as how to handle finances and child-rearing practices.
• Helps to dispel fears about marriage.
• Helps to identify behaviors and habits that could cause marital stress.
• Addresses any other concerns the couple may have.

Pre-marital counseling also deals with the specific concerns about about sex, family planning, pregnancy and children. Pre-marital counseling can also address role sharing, inter-personal relationships as well as communication and problem solving skills. Concerns for pre-marital couples include religion, customs and practices, social values, mutual trust,  and personal life style and habits . Couples may also have concerns about financial management, role of in-laws, and the legal aspects of marriage. Pre-marital counseling would give couples the opportunity to discuss responsibilities and commitments in marriage.

When two people with their own individual personalities and often different backgrounds come together in marriage, it can be a major adjustment for them both. A lot of engaged couples can spend lots of time and money on the ceremony and reception which last a few hours and not even think beyond the honeymoon to the marriage itself, which is supposed to last a lifetime. Pre-marital counseling affords the preparation needed to navigate the ups and downs and sometimes sideways issues of married life and gives the couple some tools to have a successful and life-enduring marriage.