Pre-Marriage Counseling:10 Benefits of Couples Therapy Before Marriage

There are many benefits of couples therapy before marriage and newly engaged couples are taking advantage. Pre-marriage counseling can help couples communicate, discuss past issues, learn to solve problems effectively, and even get to know one another better.

According to Health Research Funding, engaged couples who go through premarital counseling have a marriage success rate 30% higher than couples who don’t seek professional guidance. This also speaks volumes of the marriage counseling success rate. Don’t wait until your marriage is in trouble before seeking counseling. Instead, learn to communicate, get to know one another on a deeper level, and prevent potential problems in the future.

So, does couples therapy work? There are several benefits of marriage counseling. If you have questions in your head like “Is couples counseling worth it?” “Does couples therapy help?”, below are the reasons why counseling for engaged coupes is necessary. 

Here are 10 ways that couples therapy before marriage can strengthen your relationship :

1. Learn to communicate

One of the biggest problems in marriages is the inability to communicate. Couples who do not know how to talk to one another are setting their marriage up for failure.

Communication is key to a happy, healthy marriage. You and your spouse should be able to talk about anything. Talk about your days together, talk about the future, and discuss money and other heavy-hitting topics. Learning how to communicate in couples therapy before marriage will set you up for a healthy relationship going forward.

2. Discuss past issues

One of the benefits of premarital counseling before marriage is that it gives partners the unique opportunity to openly discuss issues from the past. These issues may otherwise go unmentioned. Discussing past issues is important since romantic and familial relationships from the past can carry emotional baggage into your upcoming marriage.

Learning to cope with the past can give you a better idea of how to react and respond to certain circumstances with your spouse. Children of divorce, for example, maybe more likely to have an irrational fear of infidelity or abandonment. Openly discussing such issues can teach you the best way to comfort and reassure your spouse.

3. Get to know one another

It’s safe to say that if you are about to get married, you probably believe you know your partner very well. Going through couples therapy before marriage can help you get to know your partner on an even deeper level. Couples therapy will delve deep into how your partner really feels about marriage, gender roles, forgiveness, spiritual beliefs, and more.

4. Discuss potential problems

It is not uncommon for newly engaged couples to be wearing rose-colored glasses when it comes to their partner. Attending couples therapy before marriage will help you and your partner identify potential problems that will come up in the future.

Is your partner the jealous type? Is one of you outgoing where the other is a homebody? Anger issues, addictions, and many other potential problem areas may be uncovered during premarital counseling. Knowing about these problems before marriage can help couples formulate a plan on how to handle such issues should they come up in the future.

5. Learn to solve problems

One of the largest benefits of couples therapy before marriage is learning how to be a problem solver. Conflict resolution includes learning how to speak to one another, keeping calm, being respectful, patient, clear with your words, and learning to listen.

6. Discuss expectations

Are you and your partner on the same page regarding your marriage? You may think you know the answer and then feel completely blindsided once you get into your therapy sessions. Don’t let there be any unexpected revelations after you’ve already tied the knot. Instead, openly discuss your expectations for your future together.

Couples counseling before marriage help with discussions of marital expectations. They include how you will handle each partner working and financial contributions, whether you expect to buy a home, where you will live, whether you will start a family, as well as how you will handle infidelity or job loss, and your mutual expectations regarding your sex life.

7. Comfortably discuss finances

Money is a common reason for marital discord. One of the reasons people choose to separate had to do with how one spouse handled their finances. One research study found that money was statistically one of the most recurrent marital conflicts.

Marriage counseling before marriage will help you be comfortable to discuss financial goals. It’s important for newly engaged couples to learn how to comfortably discuss finances. Topics covered should include whether bother partners will be working full time, how finances will be shared, and who will cover what expense. Debt, future financial goals, and budgeting should also be open for discussion.

8. Strengthen your relationship

One of the biggest benefits of couples therapy before marriage is that you will strengthen your marriage. Even the most perfect couple has their ups and downs. Taking charge of the future of your relationship is one of the healthiest things you can do.

By getting to know one another, for better or worse, you ensure that you’re both mentally and emotionally prepared to deal with any issues that may arise. Pre-marriage counseling will also help you share openly with one another and draw you closer together.

9. Have an outsider’s perspective

Your counselor has seen it all. If you have an issue, your therapist will let you know how to best approach the situation.

Instead of taking sides, your counselor will act as an unbiased observer who can see your relationship from both of your perspectives.  This outsider’s perspective will offer insight into the strengths in your relationship, as well as areas you can both work on going forward.

10. Prevent divorce

When to go to couples counseling?

Premarital counseling is a great way to prepare you for the future and reinforce your commitment to one another before marriage. It will also increase your overall happiness and may lower the divorce chances in comparison to couples who go into marriage without any prior therapy.

While we count premarital counseling benefits, it is also important to talk about the most important questions you need to put forth during marriage counseling before getting married. In the video below, Jamilah and Marcel discuss some pre-marital counseling questions that are vital to prepare for a successful and healthy marriage. The questions range from background, marriage goals, responsibilities to finances, faith/religion, and children. Have a look:

When it comes to tying the knot, there is always room for improvement. Your future-marriage can only benefit from couples therapy before marriage. The more comfortable you and your partner are communicating and problem-solving, the more capable you will feel when dealing with issues in your marriage.