

{"id":21,"date":"2015-05-19T06:47:38","date_gmt":"2015-05-19T06:47:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marriage.com\/topic\/?p=21"},"modified":"2025-03-28T04:31:47","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T04:31:47","slug":"why-couples-need-more-than-pre-marriage-counseling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/pre-marriage\/why-couples-need-more-than-pre-marriage-counseling\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Couples Need More Than Pre Marriage Counseling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-174 size-full\" title=\"Couples Pre Marriage Counseling\" src=\"http:\/\/image.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Why-Couples-Need-More-Than-Pre-Marriage-Counseling.jpg\" alt=\"Couples Pre Marriage Counseling\" width=\"804\" height=\"350\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you first got engaged, hopefully<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/pre-marriage\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">before getting married<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you signed up for some<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/pre-marriage\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">premarital counseling<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sessions. Young couples can enjoy the benefits of marriage counseling and get a better understanding of how married life should be, from an experienced marriage coach.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In fact, there are numerous reasons why it&rsquo;s such a beneficial thing for engaged couples to do. It can help you to better understand the magnitude of the commitment that you are about to make. Also, couples counseling can provide you with some of the tools that you need to prepare for the future.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Further, it can also help you and your partner to explore issues like money management, raising children, and how to balance your relationship with your in-laws.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In short, pre-marriage counseling or couples counseling before marriage is a way to make &ldquo;easing into marriage life&rdquo; a lot easier to do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, one mistake that a lot of married couples tend to make is assuming that after the wedding ceremony, counseling is no longer needed; that unless they are in serious trouble and\/or they are contemplating divorce, there&rsquo;s no need to see a marriage counselor.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the reality is that marriage counseling is also helpful even after you are happily married. It is a way to remain <\/span><b>proactive<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about your marriage rather than <\/span><b>reactive<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to the problems that may arise within it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are currently married, but you&rsquo;ve never gone to a<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">marriage counseling<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> session before, here are five (other) reasons or benefits of marriage counseling to help you understand why it could end up being one of the best investments that you could ever make in your relationship with your spouse.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>How effective is marriage counseling?<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1-Counseling-will-improve-communication\"><\/span>1. Counseling will improve communication<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a lot of people may think that infidelity or even financial struggles are the leading causes of divorce, there are <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.semanticscholar.org\/paper\/An-Empirical-Study-on-the-Causes-and-Effects-of-in-Uwom-Ajaegbu-Ajike\/0234cf823e6031641ec53da645689b5b21a254c5?p2df\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">studies<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that indicate that an even bigger reason is poor communication between partners.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When couples do not take the time to listen to one another, to convey their emotions in a clear way, and show respect for their spouse&rsquo;s feelings, over time, that can lead to resentment which can cause all kinds of walls to go up.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A marriage counselor is trained in how to provide skills that will help you and your spouse to truly connect in a way that will ultimately bring both of you closer together.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, a relationship counseling entails both the partners have to be honest during such sessions, else you cannot truly enjoy the benefits of marriage counseling as such.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2-It-can-help-you-to-work-through-painful-experiences\"><\/span>2.&nbsp;It can help you to work through painful experiences<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It would certainly be nice if married people did not make mistakes.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But because everyone is human, there may be times when hurtful things happen. There may be an affair (physical or emotional). There may be some type of substance abuse or alcoholism. Or, there might be another type of addiction, such as porn, gambling or eating.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whatever the challenge, during the bleak moments of marriage, it can be reassuring to have a qualified mediator present. Someone who can show you and your spouse how to survive the tough times.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is just one more reason to consider going to marriage counseling before marriage to stay prepared or harness the benefits of couples therapy once problems arise after marriage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Recommended<\/strong>&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/marriage-courses\/pre-marriage-course\">Pre Marriage&nbsp;Course<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3-Marriage-counseling-is-great-for-setting-goals\"><\/span>3. Marriage counseling is great for setting goals<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You know the saying: &ldquo;Fail to plan, plan to fail.&rdquo; When two people are married, it&rsquo;s important that they take out the time to think about what they want to accomplish as a team.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you want to buy a house? Do you want to do more traveling? Perhaps the two of you are considering starting a business together.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Initially, you might not think that marriage counseling is the ideal setting to have these types of conversations. But the reason why it could prove to be very beneficial is that the counselors are trained to ask specific questions.&nbsp; And, they are trained to provide certain insights that will lead you and yours to the best resolve.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, are you wondering when to go to marriage counseling? Probably, this is the right time to pay a visit to a marriage coach near you and get help from the untold benefits of marriage counseling.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4-You-can-learn-how-to-be-more-intimate-with-your-spouse\"><\/span>4. You can learn how to be more intimate with your spouse<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-40952 size-full\" title=\"Learn to be more intimate with spouse\" src=\"https:\/\/image.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Pathways-to-Greater-Intimacy-in-Any-Relationship-That-Actually-Works.jpg\" alt=\"Learn to be more intimate with spouse\" width=\"804\" height=\"350\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Does marriage counseling work? As mentioned earlier, the benefits of marriage counseling is limitless. But there are situations when only an experienced counselor can truly guide you to the right path.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let&rsquo;s see how!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We all know that sex is essential in a marriage. But, any couple who&rsquo;s been married for more than five years or so will tell you that sex changes over time.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your body goes through changes. Your schedule becomes more taxing. The daily demands of work, children and other activities can get in the way. In fact, there is approximately 20 percent of married couples within the United States alone who are in a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sexless_marriage\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sexless marriage<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (they have sex 10 or fewer times each year).&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You didn&rsquo;t sign up for your spouse to be your roommate. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/relationship\/things-to-consider-before-choosing-your-life-partner\/\">They are to be your life partner<\/a>, friend and your lover too. If you are having issues when it comes to intimacy, this is just one more area where a marriage counselor can be of help.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They can offer <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/physical-intimacy\/repair-a-sexless-marriage\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tips to help you<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> get your love life back on track.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5-Couples-need-their-%E2%80%9Cmarriage-temperature%E2%80%9D-taken\"><\/span>5. Couples need their &ldquo;marriage temperature&rdquo; taken<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, what if nothing is wrong in your marriage? If that is indeed the case, first of&nbsp;all, congratulations! And you know what? One of the best ways to ensure that it stays intact is to see a marriage counselor once or twice a year to enjoy the benefits of marriage counseling.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They can assess if any areas could potentially lead to issues up the road. Plus, they can advise on how to make your union even better.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, engaged couples should get some pre-marriage counseling. But if you have stayed away from counseling before marriage, you need to understand when to seek marriage counseling.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of wondering, &lsquo;does marriage counseling really work,&rsquo; one should give it a try to enjoy the benefits of counseling after marriage. After all, you&rsquo;re married; it is worth your time, effort, and money to get in a few marriage counseling sessions too!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It will not harm your marriage; instead, you will gain a new perspective about life after marriage, altogether. So go for it!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":""},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you first got engaged, hopefully before getting married, you signed up for some premarital counseling sessions. Young couples can enjoy the benefits of marriage counseling and get a better understanding of how married life should be, from an experienced marriage coach. In fact, there are numerous reasons why it&rsquo;s such a beneficial thing for engaged couples to do. It can help you to better understand the magnitude of the commitment that you are about to make. Also, couples counseling can provide you with some of the tools that you need to prepare for the future.&nbsp; Further, it can also <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[21],"tags":[2618],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108016,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions\/108016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}