Pre-Marital

Couples who engage in some type of premarital education are happier, healthier, and more satisfied over the course of their relationship than those who do not.

Similarly, couples who engage in relationship communication training report increased openness and higher levels of satisfaction in their relationships. Overall, couples who engage in some type of premarital education are happier, healthier and more satisfied over the course of their relationship than those who do not. In premarital counseling, clients differentiate and strengthen the foundational elements of a successful relationship:

• Open communication
• Effective conflict resolution skills
• Awareness of the needs of self and other
• Willingness to explore and negotiate personal differences
• Ability to manage stress
• Balance between work and family
• Agreement on finances, domestic labor, sex, parenting and family roles

Premarital counseling aims to strengthen mutual respect for individual differences and increase openness and intimacy. In doing so, counselors prepare couples for the rigors and joys of relationship commitment.

References

Stahmann, R. F., & Hiebert, W. J. (1997). Premarital and remarital counseling: The professional’s handbook. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Jakubowski, S. F., Milne, E. P., Brunner, H., & Miller, R. B. (2004). A review of empirically supported marital enrichment programs. Family Relations: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 53(5), 528-536.

Our counselors are in-network providers for most major health insurance companies, including but not limited to: Aetna, Cigna, First Choice, Kaiser Permanente, Premera, Regence, and Optum/United Behavioral Health. Please call 206-858-1177 for additional details.

Pre-Marital Practitioners