marriage breakdown, divorce, and unfulfilling relationships...
There is a solution.
There is one thing you can change to give yourselves the best possible start together.
Premarital counseling, marriage preparation or a premarriage course...
Call it what you will, it is the one thing that you can do now to dramatically drop your risk of divorce. All you have to do is to look at the statistics. A USA Today article (June 22, 2006) reports findings from the Journal of Family Psychology that couples who participate in some type of premarital education are 31% less likely to get divorced.
AND marriage preparation also significantly increases the chances of having a GREAT marriage instead of just an OK one.
Here is a bit about our story-
Dan and I met, had four dates and got engaged. It was a pretty safe bet we didn’t know each other that well. And though we were crazy about each other, we weren’t crazy. We went to premarriage counseling with a registered Marriage and Family Therapist. It cost $500 but was well worth it. We still benefit from it. In fact, it was such a good experience that we recommended it to everyone we met who was getting married.
But not one person took our advice to heart. In fact, pretty much the only people we met who had done any marriage preparation were the ones who had been forced to by their church.
Now, we are talking bright, capable people who were spending $10,000 or $20,000 on their wedding. Five hundred dollars isn’t cheap, but money clearly wasn’t the issue. Somehow, the existing offerings weren’t working for everyone.
So why don’t more people do premarital counselling?
Are they concerned…
About having a lack of privacy?
About having to talk about feelings with each other or a third party?
About being religiously brainwashed?
About money?
That it will bring up something uncomfortable or worse and will harm the relationship?
Or
Don’t feel they need it because they are in love?
These concerns may be why some people put off (or avoid entirely) going to see a Marriage and Family therapist or taking a pre marriage course. But CouplesQuestions Marriage Preparation Program addresses these concerns and makes it easier than ever before to prepare yourselves for your marriage – on your terms.
