Premarital counseling, albeit often overlooked, is a crucial step in the wedding process. Unless couples are getting married in a religious environment with required faith-based marriage counseling, premarital counseling is forgotten. Premarital counseling is designed to set couples up in the best positive way for marriage and help avoid troubling times in the future. Here are some of the most important things you need to know about premarital counseling
1. Create mutual goals and resolutions for their marriage
Couples may have different ideas of what a happy and successful marriage looks like. By discussing beforehand what you both hope to get out of your marriage, you can create a plan to fulfill both of your needs. This gives both people common goals to work toward.
2. Head off potential conflicts before they become a problem
No relationship is perfect and sometimes people do things that may drive their partner crazy. Often couples will avoid talking about issues plaguing their relationship, hoping that the euphoria of newlywed life will magically dissolve these problems. This is a surefire way of setting yourself up for a future conflict. Instead, premarital counseling can help couples get these things out in the open before they say “I do.”
3. Understand and improve communication styles
Communication is essential in a marriage. Premarital counseling can help couples better understand their own communication style and how to adapt or improve their manner of communication to be able to successfully talk through potential problems, instead of ignoring them or arguing about them.
4. Career for both partners
In today’s world, you may find both members of the couple working a full-time job. Premarital counseling can help couples discuss their professional futures and what that will look like for the marriage. Deciding on whether both partners will continue to work, or, if one will decide to be the stay at home parent, and the impact that decision may have on future childcare, is an important factor to discuss. The professional status may also create a power imbalance within a marriage, which is also important to address beforehand.
5. Family planning and sex/intimacy
Eventually, many married couples will want to start a family. A premarital counseling session can be a safe place to discuss what starting a family may look like, how many children you want, and how you each feel about sex and intimacy.
Premarital counseling can identify and rectify issues before couples tie the knot, and provide techniques to help them fortify their relationship and live a fulfilling married life.
Contact A Caring Approach to schedule an appointment with Dr. Durana today.