5 Benefits of Premarriage Counseling

If you recently got engaged, congratulations!

Without question, this is definitely one of the most exciting (and life-altering) times of your entire life. And although we’re pretty sure that you’re busy setting a date, booking a venue and figuring out what you’re going to wear on your special day, as you’re going down the list of things that you actually must do, please don’t forget to put “get premarital counseling” on the very top of the list.

Benefits of premarriage counseling

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A lot of couples only see it as a mere (and not extremely necessary) formality not realizing the surprising benefits of premarriage counseling.

However, there is actually a lot of evidence supporting the fact that it’s one of the best proactive steps that you can take in order to safeguard your union. In fact, according to one published report, “Couples who underwent counseling before their wedding had a 30% higher marital success rate than those who did not.”

If you’re hesitant to book an appointment with a counselor, therapist or pastor because you’re still not convinced that it’s worth the time or money, here are 5 benefits of premarital counseling for couples that will hopefully change your mind.

1. You’ll see your relationship from “the outside in”

Although basically all of us have heard the saying “Perception is reality”, that conclusion is more popular than it is actually true.

Perception is the way that you personally see things, while reality is based on hardcore facts.

So, say for instance that neither one of you has enough money to live on your own. Perception might say that “our love will get us through” while reality says “perhaps we should push the date back until we’re more financially stable”.

During couple counseling before marriage, a good premarital counselor is going to take what you see “from the inside out” (perception) into account while still encouraging you to look at things from the outside in (the facts without your feelings so that your judgment is not clouded).

That is one of the key benefits of premarriage counseling that will help couples enhance their readiness for marriage.

2. It gives you a chance to think past your emotions

Something that engaged couples have a tendency to do is only focus on the present. Benefits of premarital counseling include a more holistic view at all things marriage entails.

Meanwhile, a marriage counselor is going to get you to look into the future besides proving other benefits of premarriage counseling.

Do you both want children, and if so, when? Are you both good with money? Who has a higher sex drive? What are your love languages? Do you have a healthy relationship with each other’s parents? Who is going to do which chores around the house? What do you expect from one another?

Remember, marriage is not just about loving another person. It’s about building a life with an individual.

During couples counseling before marriage you get the opportunity to explore all types of issues, beforehand, just to make sure that you are marrying the right one for you.

Still wondering about the benefits of premarriage counseling?

Recommended – Pre Marriage Course

3. Reasons for getting married are discussed

While in premarital counseling, something that the counselor may ask you is “So, why did the two of you make the decision to get married?”

If that seems like an odd question or your only answer is “Because we’re in love”, it’s a good thing that you signed up for a few sessions. Being in love is awesome, but you’re going to need a lot more than love in order to make it through an entire lifetime together.

You need friendship. You need mutual respect. You need compatibility. You need goals and plans for your relationship. One of the  benefits of premarriage counseling include the expert guidance to help you develop and solidify your relationship during your engagement.

A wise man once said that if you want to see how a relationship ends, look at how it began. Being clear about your initial reasons and motives for being together will provide a lot of clarity on what is required to make your relationship work following your wedding day.

4. Uncomfortable topics are covered

You’re going to be sharing your living space, your time and almost everything else that you can think about with your significant other.

You might as well use premarital counseling to discuss some potentially uncomfortable topics. Benefits of premarriage counseling include unraveling and discussing potential marital problems that can fester resentment in marriage later.

What to expect in premarital counseling? Counseling before marriage provides you the opportunity and a safe place to find answers to all your questions that are crucial to compatibility in relationship.

During pre-marriage counseling, you can gain insights on questions like what’s your credit score? What bad habits do you have? Deeper than that, what are some of your traumatic experiences and greatest fears? If you don’t things out in the open now, one way or another they are going to come out later.

It’s best that both you and your partner are not blindsided. Premarital counseling can help to prevent that from happening.

5. The counselor provides an unbiased opinion

Once your premarital counseling sessions have come to an end, it’s then time for the counselor to provide their opinion or conclusion.

They might say “You two are a really great match” or they might recommend that you rethink being together. Although it is certainly up to you to make the ultimate choice, at least you have an unbiased individual who shared their thoughts.

Marriage counseling before marriage gives you a deeper understanding of what you’re signing up for should you choose to move forward, which is a good thing. And as they say “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Right? Right.

Premarital courses and premarital counseling books

Reading books on premarital counseling online or on paper can benefit a marriage in more ways than one.  Here are three crucial reasons to read counseling books on marriage.

There are several premarital counseling books exclusively for couples to help them learn about effective marriage communication, conflict resolution, marriage finances and intimacy in marriage.

Instead of or alongside taking premarriage counseling, couples can also take up any of the credible premarital courses or marriage courses online to learn about ways to forge a stronger love bond, overcome marital challenges and enjoy marital harmony.

While traditional face-to-face therapy is highly recommended, couples may also opt for online premarital counseling. Couples can partake in online pre-marriage counseling as a fun and convenient way to start their marriage off on the right foot.

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Shellie R. Warren

Shellie R Warren is an author, writer, marriage life coach and doula. Her passion is covenant and spends a lot of time devoted to that area. You can check out her blog for... Read more single women who desire marital covenant at www.OnFireFastMovement.blogspot.com Read less

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