Congratulations on your engagement! We are excited for you and your new life together! At Marriage & Family Counseling Center (MFCC) we believe forming healthy relationship patterns begins even before marriage, regardless of how long a couple has been together, and we offer pre-marital counseling for couples looking to give their marriage a boost from the beginning. Through our work with many couples going through pre-marital counseling, we find that the needs and goals are a bit different from what might be present in couples counseling. We utilize the Prepare – Enrich program to walk engaged or newlywed couples through the top issues that might create tension or stress in your relationship. We also infuse Prepare – Enrich with aspects of Hold Me Tight (based on Emotionally Focused Therapy) to help you create an even deeper level of connection, emotional safety and understanding, and take your relationship to a whole new level. Most all of our counselors are trained in Prepare – Enrich, and many also incorporate aspects of EFT in their work with couples.

 Couples with premarital education reported higher levels of marital satisfaction and experienced a 30 percent decline in the likelihood of divorce over five years.” (Journal of Family Psychology Survey)

 By taking advantage of pre-marital counseling, couples can create a deeper sense of understanding and awareness of their relationship by learning the strengths, dynamics, personalities and backgrounds that make up the DNA of each partner, identify the expectations that each partner is bringing into the marriage, and define possible areas of conflict and develop healthy skills to resolve conflict early in their relationship that strengthen their marriage later. Pre-marital counseling can also help couples find a deeper level of communication and connection by learning how to effectively verbalize their feelings and emotions and improve and adapt communication patterns.

If you are a premarital couple but have been married previously, this program will still work for you! However, if you feel you might want something a little more tailored to you, you may find traditional couples counseling with a premarital lens more helpful. Let us know what your preferences and needs are and we’ll help you get matched with a therapist that is skilled in areas that work for you.

What to expect with Prepare – Enrich?

  • Prepare – Enrich is an assessment based approach that tailors sessions and topics directly to you as a couple. You will be given the opportunity to complete a short but comprehensive online assessment that will generate a report that highlights where you and your partner are on the same page about certain topics, and indicate areas where improvement could be helpful. We use this assessment to guide sessions that make sure you are receiving the focus that is most helpful to your relationship.
  • You will work with the same therapist each week to ensure comprehensive and cohesive therapy.
  • The assessment is $30, and is included in the full package price of $550. You pay just one fee for the assessment and 6 sessions tailored to your relationship, over $80.00 savings! Additional sessions can be added, for an additional fee. (our standard session fee of $100 – $125/session)
  • Fees for premarital program are due up front at the beginning of sessions. You are able to pay half of the full cost ($225) at the time of scheduling, and the remainder ($225) the week your sessions begin. Please let us know if this is something you wish to do.

PREMARITAL INTENSIVES

Don’t have time to complete 6 sessions? We do offer Premarital Intensives where you can cover all the same information in just one day. If you are interested in this, please indicate Premarital Intensive on your appointment request form.

Read more about Prepare – Enrich here.

Schedule pre-marital counseling

Learn more about Prepare-Enrich